UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


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HERMIT   READING 
From  the  painting  by  Solomon  Koninck 


LITERATURE  OE  THE 
WORLD 

AN  INTRODUCTORY  STUDY 


WILLIAM  L.  RICHARDSON 

AND 

JESSE  M.  OWEN 

ASSISTANT    PROl-ESSOR   OF    ENGLISH,    LEWIS    INSTITUTE,    CHICAGO 


GINN  AND  COMPANY 

BOSTON     •     NEW   YORK     •    CHICAGO     •    LONDON 
ATLANTA     •     DALLAS     •    COLUMBUS     •    SAN    FRANCISCO 


COPYRIGHT,  1922,  MY    WILLIAM    L.   KICilAROSON   AND   JKSSE  M.   OWEN 
ALL  RIGHTS   RESERVED 

PRINTED   IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 
827.2 


gbe  gtfctngum  ^ttgg 

GINN  AND  COMPANY  ■  PRO- 
PRIETORS •  BOSTON  •  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

This  volume  attempts  to  give  a  general  survey  of  literature. 
It  is  in  a  sense  the  outcome  of  work  done  continuously  for  over 
twenty  years  in  classes  in  literature  at  Hull-House,  at  Lewis  Insti- 
tute, and  elsewhere  in  Chicago. 

It  has  not  been  our  purpose  to  furnish  an  inclusive  and  detailed 
compendium  of  literature  nor  to  enter  any  of  the  numerous  by- 
paths of  literar>'^  criticism.  Our  aim  has  been  rather  to  present  in 
straightforward  language  a  brief  study  of  the  literature  of  each  of 
the  major  nations.  We  give  in  general  the  accepted  judgments. 
We  indicate  the  main  currents,  devote  some  attention  to  all  writers 
of  real  consequence,  and  offer  relatively  full  studies  of  authors 
who  are  recognized  as  the  great  figures  in  literature.  In  short,  the 
book  contains  what  we  deem  to  be  the  essential  facts  that  every- 
one should  know  about  the  literature  of  the  world.  Our  observa- 
tion has  been  that  a  person  who  may  be  well  informed  regarding 
the  chief  writers  of  England  and  America,  for  instance,  has  all 
too  frequently  only  a  vague  impression  of  the  literature  of — let 
us  say — Italy  and  Spain,  or  of  Russia  and  Scandinavia.  He  may 
specialize  in  one  direction,  but  show  astonishing  ignorance  of  the 
field  of  letters  as  a  whole.  We  hope,  therefore,  that  this  general 
outline  of  literature  in  one  volume — the  first  of  its  kind,  so  far  as 
we  know — may  serve  a  useful  purpose. 

Generally  speaking,  each  chapter  gives  the  historical  back- 
ground, some  information  about  matters  of  language  and  racial 
connection,  and  an  indication  of  the  outstanding  characteristics  of 
the  people.  Then  follows  a  chronological  survey  of  the  literature. 
Extracts  from  the  works  studied  are  occasionally  included  where 
these  will  serve  to  elucidate  the  text,  but  it  is  obvious  that  this 
element  must  be  comparatively  slight  in  a  volume  of  such  propor- 


vi  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

tions  as  this.  At  the  close  of  each  chapter  is  appended  a  reference 
list  of  easily  obtainable  works  in  history,  literature,  and  criticism. 
Since  the  impulse  of  the  book  is  to  encourage  the  reader  to  investi- 
gate the  literature  itself,  good  editions  and  translations  of  the 
classics  are  cited.    Topics  for  special  study  are  suggested  as  well. 

For  the  shortcomings  of  this  book  the  authors  must,  of  course, 
accept  full  responsibility.  It  is  pleasant,  however,  to  record  in 
this  place  our  appreciation  of  the  helpful  advice  and  criticism  of  a 
number  of  friends,  especially  the  following:  Dean  Roy  C.  Flick- 
inger  and  Professor  William  F.  Bryan,  of  Northwestern  University ; 
Reverend  P.  F.  O'Brien,  Professor  of  Latin  in  the  St,  Paul  Semi- 
nary ;  Miss  Carolina  Marcial  Dorado,  of  Columbia  University ; 
Dr.  Edwin  H.  Lewis  and  Mile.  Lea  De  Lagneau,  of  Lewis  Institute, 
Chicago ;  Mile.  Bertha  de  C.  Favard,  of  Hyde  Park  High  School, 
Chicago ;  Dr.  Philip  S.  Allen,  of  The  University  of  Chicago ;  and 
Professor  Frederick  W.  Roe,  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin.  In 
particular  we  are  indebted  to  Brother  Leo,  Professor  of  Literature 
in  St.  Mary's  College,  Oakland,  California,  and  to  Mr.  Walter 
Taylor  Field  for  time  most  generously  taken  in  reading  the  entire 
manuscript. 

For  the  permission  to  use  copyrighted  material  we  heartily  thank 
the  following  publishers: 

United  States  Publishers  Association  (several  extracts  from  the  Warner 
Library,  University  Edition,  Cunliffe  and  Thorndike,  Editors,  191 7). 

Oxford  University  Press  (quotation  from  "Count  Arnaldos,"  in  Miss 
FarneU's  "Spanish  Prose  and  Poetry";  extracts  from  the  Gilbert 
Murray  translations  of  Euripides'  "Trojan  Women"  and  "Bacchae"; 
and  the  H.  W.  Garrod  translation  from  Catullus). 

Messrs.  E.  P.  Button  &  Company  (the  sonnet  "On  Reading  Dostoevsky," 
from  Evelyn  Underbill's  "Immanence''). 

Messrs.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons  (two  quotations  from  Barrett  Wendell's 
"Traditions  of  European  Literature  from  Homer  to  Dante";  ex- 
tracts from  Douglas  Hyde's  "Literary  History  of  Ireland"  and  from 
Dowden's  "History  of  French  Literature"). 

The  John  Lane  Company  (Paul  Verlaine's  "Chanson  d'Automne,"  trans- 
lation by  Arthur  Symons ;  extract  from  "When  I  was  Om:- 
and^Twenty,"  from  Housman's  "A  Shropshire  Lad"). 


PREFACE  vii 

Messrs.  D.  Appleton  and  Company  (extract  from  the  Gary  translation 
of  Herodotus). 

Messrs.  Little,  Brown  and  Company  (Emily  Dickinson's  "Autumn"). 

The  Thomas  Y.  Crowell  Company  (extract  from  Tolstoy's  "Anna  Ka- 
renina,"  English  translation). 

Messrs.  Longmans,  Green  &  Company  (three  epigrams  from  Mackail's 
"Greek  Anthology"). 

Messrs.  Dodd,  Mead  &  Company  (sonnet  from  Sewall's  "Poems  of 
Carducci"). 

Messrs.  Doubleday,  Page  &  Company  (two  quotations  from  Dickinson's 
"Greek  View  of  Life"). 

The  Houghton  Mifflin  Company  (quotations  from  Williams's  "^neid"; 
from  the  Charles  Eliot  Norton  translation  of  Dante ;  and  from  the 
Isabel  Butler  translation  of  "The  Song  of  Roland";  and  from  the 
writings  of  Lowell.  Longfellow,  Emerson,  Whittier,  and  Holmes). 

The  David  McKay  Company  (extracts  from  Walt  Whitman). 

The  Century  Company  (a  passage  from  Gorky's  "My  Childhood"). 

The  Macmillan  Company  (two  stanzas  from  George  W.  Russell's  "Her- 
mit"; Padraic  Colum's  "Cradle  Song";  a  portion  of  John  Mase- 
field's  "Wanderer's  Song,"  in  "Saltwater  Ballads";  one  stanza  of 
Christina  Rossetti's  "A  Birthday";  D.  G.  Rossetti's  "Beauty"  and 
his  translation  of  Villon's  "Ballade  of  Dead  Ladies"). 

The  Four  Seas  Company  (a  stanza  of  "The  Silence  of  Unlabored  Fields," 
from  Joseph  Campbell's  "The  Mountainy  Singer"). 

Messrs.  Ginn  and  Company  (extracts  from  Genung's  "A  Guidebook  to 
the  Bibhcal  Literature"). 

W.  L.  R. 
J.  M.  0. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PACE 

I.  Introduction i 

II.  Literature  of  the  Orient 5 

III.  The  Bible  as  Literature 34 

IV.  Greek   Literature 59 

V.  Latin  Literature 106 

VI.  Italian  Literature 136 

VII.  Spanish   Literature 170 

VIII.  French   Literature '  .     .      .  200 

IX.  German   Literature 251 

X.  Russian  Literature 291 

XI.  Scandinavian   Literature 323 

XII.  English  Literature 354 

XIII.  English  Literature   (Continued) 404 

XIV.  Irish  Literature 447 

XV.  American  Literature 471 

A  CLOSING  WORD 513 

INDEX S15 


LITERATURE  OF  THL 
WORLD 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION 

When  the  term  "literature"  is  properly  used  it  denotes  writings 
or  records  that  are  of  permanent  value,  that  have  human  interest, 
and  that  have  beauty  of  form. 

Books,  like  plants  and  animals,  must  struggle  for  existence. 
Those  that  survive  after  perhaps  hundreds  of  years  have  stood  a 
supreme  test,  and  back  of  them  is  the  authority  of  generations. 
Such  books  are  not  often  prosy  or  uninteresting.  They  are  broad 
in  their  appeal,  they  touch  us  in  a  personal  and  intimate  way,  and 
they  interpret  to  us  the  richest  products  of  our  civilization.  We 
read  them  for  their  own  sake,  and  when  we  go  to  them  they  do  not 
turn  us  empty  away. 

Literature  for  Information  and  Understanding 

He  who  knows  literature  dwells  in  a  large  and  beautiful  world 
that  has  no  limit  in  time  or  space.  In  actual  life  he  may  be  unac- 
quainted with  his  nearest  neighbor,  but  in  the  world  of  books  every 
door  is  opened  by  a  magic  more  wonderful  than  that  of  .Aladdin. 
With  the  much-enduring  Ulysses  he  sails  the  seas,  with  Dante 
he  explores  the  depths  and  mounts  to  highest  heaven,  with  Don 
Quixote  he  rights  wrongs,  with  Sigurd  the  Volsung  he  dares  the 
wall  of  flame.  Huxley  teaches  him  nature ;  Gibbon,  history ; 
Ruskin,  art.  He  listens  to  the  sweet  songs  of  Sappho  and  David 
and  Frangois  Villon  and  Shelley.  If  it  is  philosophy  that  he  craves, 
there  are  Socrates,  .Aristotle,  and  Carlyle.    Everyday  matters,  such 


2  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

as  the  face  of  the  sky,  the  greenness  of  the  grass,  and  the  prattle 
of  little  children,  take  on  a  new  meaning.  Through  a  thousand 
avenues  he  has  knowledge  of  the  great  passions  that  sway  the  heart 
of  man — of  hate  and  despair  and  jealousy,  of  love  and  truth  and 
beauty,  of  the  problems  of  life  and  destiny.  A  single  volume,  like 
Browning's  "The  Ring  and  the  Book,"  may  give  him  rich  and 
varied  study,  associated  perhaps  with  the  landscape  of  Italy,  the 
forms  of  English  poetry,  the  singular  ways  of  justice,  the  blackness 
of  evil,  or  the  exquisite  beauty  of  a  woman's  soul. 

Literature  frees  us  from  provinciality.  No  nation  seems  foreign 
or  unfriendly  when  it  is  once  disclosed  to  us  in  its  literature.  It 
is  not  knowledge  but  ignorance  that  makes  us  prejudiced.  We 
laugh  with  Sancho  Panza  or  Sam  Weller  or  Tom  Sawyer  alike.  Lear 
and  Prometheus,  Jean  Valjean  and  Anna  Karenina — do  they  be- 
long to  one  nation  or  one  time  ?  All  racial  barriers  disappear  when 
we  hear  the  agonizing  cry,  ''O  my  son  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son 
Absalom !  would  God  I  had  died  for  thee,  O  Absalom,  my  son,  my 
son ! "    Through  literature  we  become  citizens  of  the  world. 

Literature  for  Pleasure 

But  books  are  needful  not  only  to  push  back  horizons,  to  impart 
information,  and  to  increase  understanding ;  one  of  their  chief  of- 
fices is  to  give  pleasure.  There  is  no  other  such  enthusiast  as  the 
book  enthusiast:  he  is  termed  a  bibliomaniac.  He  thinks  of  books 
as  he  would  of  friends  and  companions.  His  grandfather  may  not 
have  been  born  before  the  gentle  Elia  finished  his  life,  but  Elia 
is  an  intimate  friend  who  is  closer  than  a  brother.  The  Roman 
Horace  and  the  Norwegian  Bjornson  are  his  friends ;  so  are  George 
Borrow  and  Walt  Whitman  and  Montaigne  and  Omar  Khayyam 
and  Robert  Louis  Stevenson.  In  the  flesh  Thomas  Carlyle  or  Henrik 
Ibsen  may  have  repulsed  him,  but  in  the  spirit  they  reveal  to  him 
their  profoundest  secrets.  Edmund  Gosse  speaks  in  one  of  his  essays 
of  the  inaccessibility  of  the  English  poetess  Christina  Rossetti  even 
in  a  London  drawing-room,  but  her  deepest  self  is  disclosed  to  us 
in  this  exquisite  stanza : 


INTRODUCTION  3 

"My  heart  is  like  a  singing  bird 

Whose  nest  is  in  a  watered  shoot; 
My  heart  is  hke  an  apple-tree 

Whose  boughs  are  bent  with  thick-set  fruit ; 
My  heart  is  hke  a  rainbow  shell 

That  paddles  in  a  halcyon  sea ; 
My  heart  is  gladder  than  all  these 

Because  my  love  is  come  to  me." 

As  the  years  pass,  the  friends  of  the  reader  of  literature  form  a 
great  company :  the  nonne,  the  prioresse,  is  there,  and  Eugenie 
Grandet,  and  Andromache,  and  Beatrix  Esmond  ;  there  are  Joseph 
the  dreamer,  and  Olaf  Trygvesson,  and  Hamlet  the  Dane,  and  my 
Uncle  Toby,  and  Mr.  Worldly  Wiseman,  and  Dr.  Johnson  and 
Bozzy — and  a  host  of  others. 

W^ordsw^orth  was  right,  then,  when  he  spoke  of  books  as  "a 
substantial  world": 

"Round  these,  with  tendrils  strong  as  flesh  and  blood, 
Our  pastime  and  our  happiness  will  grow." 

Literature  for  Inspiration 

In  the  picture  gallery,  so  the  story  goes,  a  woman  was  looking 
at  some  views  of  Turner's.  "I  am  sure  /  don't  see  such  things  in 
nature,"  she  complained  to  the  man  at  her  side,  who  proved  to 
be  the  artist  himself.  "Ah,  yes,  madam,"  he  replied,  "but  don't 
you  wish  to  heaven  you  could  ?" 

Literature  makes  us  see  more  and  further.  Inspiration  is  its 
finest  gift.  "Books  of  power" — that  is  the  expressive  phrase  at- 
tached to  the  world's  choicest  masterpieces.  Great  literature  is 
animated  by  a  great  purpose.  It  is  universal  in  quality:  its  roots 
go  down  deep,  its  branches  spread  wide.  Homer,  Dante,  Shake- 
speare, Milton,  Goethe  (to  mention  no  others),  form  a  glorious 
company,  and  association  with  them  will  leave  its  impress  upon  us. 
"It  is  not  possible,"  said  Longinus,  the  Greek  critic,  "that  men  who 
live  their  lives  with  mean  and  servile  aims  and  ideas  should  produce 
what  is  admirable  and  worthy  of  immortality." 


4  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

In  the  succeeding  pages  of  this  volume  we  are  to  explore  the 
pleasant  land  of  books,  where  countless  pilgrims  have  gone  before. 
Our  guideposts  are,  after  all,  only  guideposts.  Those  who  enter  the 
land  will  do  well  to  linger  on  the  way  and  to  investigate  for  them- 
selves its  beauty,  not  overlooking  the  many  trails  and  paths  and 
winding  roads  that  lead  from  the  great  highway. 

Reference  List 

Crawshaw.    The  Interpretation  of  Literature.    The  Macmillan  Company. 

Hudson.  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Literature.  Harrap  and  Com- 
pany, London. 

QuiLLER-CoucH.  On  the  Art  of  Reading.  The  University  Press,  Cam- 
bridge, England. 

Burroughs.    Literary  Values.   The  Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

Bates.  Talks  on  the  Study  of  Literature.  The  Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

Harrison.   The  Choice  of  Books.   The  Macmillan  Company. 


CHAPTER  II 
LITERATURE  OF  THE  ORIENT 

The  East  conveys  to  our  minds  an  impression  of  great  antiquity. 
It  is  a  region  of  vanished  civilizations,  and  it  carries  with  it  an  air 
of  mystery  and  unreaHty.  There  is  a  remoteness  also  in  its  litera- 
ture ;  the  reader  of  English  finds  that  only  a  portion  of  the  vast 
literary  stores  of  the  Orient  is  open  to  him  and  that  even  that  por- 
tion generally  reveals  modes  of  life  and  thought  that  can  scarcely 
be  recovered  in  our  day.  However,  a  glimpse  of  these  Eastern  peo- 
ples and  of  their  literature  will  be  informing.  It  will  also  furnish  a 
useful  background  for  the  literature  of  Europe.^ 

Egyptian  Literature 

For  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years,  as  it  now  seems  clear,  man 
has  lived  on  this  earth,  slowly  becoming  master  of  himself  and  of 
his  surroundings,  perfecting  his  weapons  and  domestic  implements, 
evolving  in  time  a  system  of  agriculture,  and  patiently  domesticat- 
ing animals  as  companions  and  beasts  of  burden.  By  comparison 
the  Egyptians  and  Babylonians,  who  have  passed  on  to  us  the 
earliest  written  records,  appear  modern,  their  history  being  almost 
of  our  own  day.  At  least  five  thousand  years  before  Christ  true 
and  relatively  advanced  civilizations  existed  in  the  favored  regions 
of  the  Nile  and  of  Mesopotamia.  The  first  king  of  united  Egypt 
reigned  approximately  3400  b.c.  (by  some  authorities  he  is  placed 
a  thousand  years  earlier).    After  an  interval  of  five  hundred  years 

iThe  literature  of  the  Orient  (apart  from  Hebrew  literature,  which  calls 
for  a  separate  treatment)  does  not  bulk  as  large  in  our  Western  consciousness 
as  the  literature  of  a  single  country  of  Europe.  It  would  be  manifestly  a 
mistake,  therefore,  to  devote  more  than  this  one  chapter  to  the  study.  The 
bibliography  (page  32)  may  assist  the  reader  in  pursuing  his  studies  in  this 
interesting  field. 

5 


6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD  f 

the  Great  Pyramid  of  Gizeh  was  erected,  and  for  another  two  thou- 
sand years  the  ancient  Egyptians  made  their  contributions  to  art, 
science,  Hterature,  and  religion. 

These  ancient  Egyptians,  a  dark-haired  and  slender  people  of  un- 
certain racial  connections,  spoke  a  language  allied  to  the  Semitic 
and  for  a  long  period  lived  a  life  somewhat  separated  from  that  of 
their  neighbors,  developing  a  civilization  highly  individual  and 
complex.  They  were  not  warlike,  nor  were  they  as  a  whole  keenly 
intellectual ;  yet  their  contributions  to  life  and  thought  were  really 
e.xtraordinary.  To  establish  this  fact  we  need  but  to  recall  their 
pioneer  achievements  in  art,  science,  and  religion.  Their  moral 
ideas  and  their  conceptions  of  life  after  death  deeply  influenced 
other  peoples. 

Picture-writing,  which  we  term  hieroglyphics,  was  employed  by 
the  Egyptians  very  early,  and  also  an  abridged  and  more  flowing 
form  known  as  hieratic,  A  still  further  development,  known  as 
demotic,  was  the  more  popular  type  of  writing  employed  later, 
largely  for  business  purposes.  After  the  second  century  of  our  era 
the  Egyptian  language  came  to  be  written  in  Greek  letters,  with  the 
addition  of  eight  signs  taken  over  from  demotic. 

The  literature  of  Egypt  is  very  considerable  in  extent  and  em- 
braces inscriptions,  religious  charms  and  extensive  religious  writ- 
ings, hymns  and  lyrics,  historical  and  legal  material,  proverbs  and 
moral  maxims,  and  many  simple  tales.  We  find  this  literature  pre- 
served on  mummy  cases  and  on  the  walls  of  tombs,  passages,  and 
chambers,  but  mostly  on  papyrus, — that  is,  strips  of  the  papyrus 
reed  skillfully  put  together, — wonderfully  preserved  in  the  dry 
climate  of  Egypt  these  many  centuries. 

The  so-called  Pyramid  Texts,  first  discovered  in  1880  in  galleries 
and  chambers  in  the  pyramids,  are  probably  the  oldest  written 
records  that  have  come  down  to  us  of  man's  long  intellectual  his- 
tory. Their  hieroglyphic  characters  date  from  the  twenty-seventh 
century  b.c.  and  later.  But  they  embody  material  belonging  to  a 
much  earlier  time,  and  taken  as  a  whole  they  probably  represent  a 
period  of  a  thousand  years,  closing  about  2600  b.c.  These  texts, 
consisting  of  charms,  hymns,  myths,  prayers,  and  ritualistic  ma- 


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PAGE  FKOM  EGYPTIAN  BOOK  OE  Till:  DEAD  (EICIITEEM  II    DVNASIV) 


8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

terial,  were  designed  to  insure  the  happiness  of  the  king  in  the  here- 
after, and  they  were  intended  for  his  exclusive  use  and  benefit.  Yet 
they  cover  a  wide  range,  and  they  give  many  glimpses  of  life  and 
thought  in  that  bygone  age. 

Of  great  interest  in  the  religious  literature  of  Egypt  is  the  Book 
of  the  Dead,  portions  of  which,  in  the  nature  of  religious  formulas 
for  the  well-being  of  the  dead  in  the  future  world,  may  date  from  a 
period  three  to  four  thousand  years  before  Christ.  Hundreds  of 
copies  have  been  preserved,  some  quite  fragmentary  and  others  on 
papyrus  over  one  hundred  feet  in  length.  The  Book  of  the  Dead 
consists  in  all  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  chapters  or  more, 
though  no  one  copy  contains  all  this  material.  It  is  a  body  of 
mortuary  literature  intended  for  the  use  of  the  soul  after  death  and 
giving  the  magical  texts  to  be  repeated  for  its  protection.  Some 
copies  have  been  beautifully  decorated  with  figures  and  symbols. 
But  the  Egyptian  writers  were  careless  in  transcribing,  and  their 
manuscripts  are  hopelessly  corrupt,  one  copy  of  a  document  dif- 
fering greatly  from  another.  Furthermore,  the  literature  of  Egypt, 
however  fascinating  it  may  be  in  the  picture  it  gives  of  the  life 
of  a  gifted  people  of  early  times,  is  not  commonly  artistic.  Its 
creators  were  not  ordinarily  interested  in  beauty  of  form  or  per- 
fection of  detail. 

Egyptian  poetry  had  no  rime  or  rhythm,  though  it  possessed 
a  parallelism  like  that  used  later  by  Hebrews  (see  Chapter  III). 
There  exist  historical  poems ;  for  example,  an  epic^  describing  a 
victory  over  the  Hittites.  The  poetry  includes  also  love  songs. 
Most  interesting  are  the  hymns,  particularly  the  one  addressed  to 
King  Sesostris  (or  Usertesen)  III,  preserved  in  a  papyrus  now 
thousands  of  years  old.  Four  stanzas  of  this  hymn  have  been 
translated  by  F.  L.  Griffith.  The  following  lines  are  taken  from  the 
beginning  of  the  second  stanza  (as  translated  by  Griffith) : 

"Twice  jubilant  are  the  gods :  thou  hast  established  their  offerings. 
Twice  jubilant  are  thy  children :  thou  hast  made  their  boundaries. 

^The  epic  as  a  form  of  literature  will  be  discussed  in  the  chapter  on  Greek 
literature. 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  ORIEXT  9 

Twice  jubilant  are  thy  forefathers  :  thou  hast  increased  their  portions. 
Twice  jubilant  is  Egypt  in  thy  strong  arm  :  thou  hast  guarded  the 
ancient  order." 

Of  the  remaining  literature  the  most  attractive  portion  consists 
of  tales,  the  originals  of  which  must  have  come  from  the  Eg>'ptian 
story-tellers  of  antiquity.  They  date  from  the  Middle  Kingdom 
and  the  New  Kingdom  (roughly  3000  to  700  b.  c),  and  are  some- 
times realistic,  sometimes  imaginative  with  miraculous  elements. 
We  have  a  curious  tale  of  a  shipwrecked  sailor,  strongly  suggestive 
of  Sindbad ;  the  story  of  the  doomed  prince  whose  violent  death  was 
prophesied  at  his  birth;  the  story  of  two  brothers,  written  very 
simply  and  presenting  a  picture  of  agricultural  life ;  and  a  number 
of  others. 

The  early  literature  of  Egypt  shows  clearly  that  the  Egyptian 
writers  had  developed  a  strong  moral  sense.  They  felt  keenly  for 
those  who  were  afflicted  unjustly.  They  frequently  used  the 
story  as  a  form  of  social  gospel,  an  aid  in  the  crusade  for  social 
justice.  The  similar  use  of  moral  tales  and  parables  by  WTiters 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  will  at  once  recur  to  the  mind 
of  the  reader.^ 

Babylonian  and  Assyrian  Literature 

The  very  ancient  civilization  in  Mesopotamia,  possibly  ante- 
dating that  of  Egypt,  has  been  partially  made  known  to  us  through 
the  work  of  oriental  scholars  and  archaeologists.  The  mastership 
of  that  region  was  for  a  long  period  in  the  hands  of  the  non-Semitic 
Sumerians,  but  these  peoples  were  gradually  absorbed  by  the  Sem- 
ites. Sargon  was  the  first  of  the  Semitic  leaders  (about  2750  B.C.). 
The  Babylonian-Assyrian-Chaldean  empires  that  followed  dom- 
inated Western  Asia  for  many  centuries,  to  be  succeeded  in  turn 
by  the  Medo-Persian  (Persian  Empire  founded  538  B.C.)  and  ul- 
timately by  the  Graeco-Roman  civilization. 

iQver  one  hundred  pages  of  Egyptian  literature  are  given  in  the  Warner 
Library,  a  very  fine  exhibit  of  a  varied  and  representative  character.  The 
Breasted  and  Maspero  volumes  mentioned  in  the  bibliography  arc  of  great 
value. 


10  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

A  good  deal  is  now  known  regarding  the  Sumerians  and  their 
culture.  They  dwelt  in  cities ;  they  drained  the  marshes ;  they 
were  skilled  in  the  arts ;  they  wrote  in  a  simplified  hieroglyphic — 
the  cuneiform,  or  wedge-shaped,  style  of  writing ;  they  possessed  a 
highly  developed  religion.  Their  civilization,  their  laws,  their  lit- 
erature, and  their  religion  were  taken  over  by  the  Semitic  peoples 
who  succeeded  them.  We  do  not  know  as  yet  the  full  extent  to 
which  Babylonians  and  Hebrews  were  indebted  to  the  culture  of 
these  non-Semitic  peoples  of  little-understood  racial  origin,  who 
seem  to  have  passed  out  of  history  at  least  two  thousand  years 
before  Christ. 

The  Babylonian-Assyrian  literature  has  come  down  to  us  in  clay 
tablets.  During  the  long  history  of  these  warlike  and  progressive 
peoples  clay  was  utilized  for  writing  of  every  description.  Some 
of  the  poetry  that  has  been  preserved  goes  back  to  a  very  remote 
period ;  the  earliest  petty  rulers  were  producing  written  records 
as  early  as  3800  b.  c. ;  a  great  variety  of  chronological  tables,  legal 
codes,  historical  inscriptions,  and  personal  and  business  letters  date 
from  the  comparatively  well-known  historic  period.  Here  is  a  por- 
tion of  a  letter  from  a  traveler  in  a  far  country  written  to  the  lady 
Kadasu,  presumably  of  his  family :  "Why  hath  news  of  thee  to  me 
been  delayed,  and  why  have  I  not  seen  a  single  answer  to  all  the 
letters  I  wrote  thee  ?  For  I  wrote  unto  thee  thus :  '  From  the  day 
that  I  start,  send  unto  me  whatever  taketh  place  in  my  house.' 
Why,  then,  have  I  heard  no  news  of  thee  ?  "  The  clay  tablet  em- 
ployed for  such  a  letter  would  be  one  inch  thick,  two  to  three 
inches  wide,  and  three  to  four  inches  long.  It  would  be  inclosed 
carefully  in  an  envelope  of  clay  for  preservation  and  privacy,  after 
having  been  powdered  with  dry  clay  to  prevent  sticking. 

In  the  great  library  of  Assurbanipal  (seventh  century  b.c.)  at 
Nineveh  have  been  discovered  twenty-two  thousand  clay  tablets,  an 
orderly  collection  of  the  scientific,  religious,  and  literary  material  of 
these  Mesopotamian  peoples.  This  ancient  library  included  some  of 
the  oldest  poetry  that  has  come  down  to  us  from  any  source. 

Of  the  prose  literature  of  the  Babylonian-Assyrians  perhaps  the 
most  interesting  is  the  Code  of  Hammurapi  (about  2100  b.c).    It 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  ORIENT 


II 


embraced,  no  doubt,  many  legal  regulations  that  were  ancient  even 
at  that  distant  time.  The  Mosaic  legislation  promulgated  about  a 
thousand  years  later  presents  many  curious  parallels. 

It  is,  however,  the  old  poetry  that  proves  of  the  greatest  value  in 
this  body  of  literature.   There  are  prayers,  magic  formulas,  and 


PORTION  OF  OLD  BABYLONIAN  STORY  OF  THE  FLOOD,  FROM  ASSURBANIPAL  S 
LIBRARY  AT  NINEVEH 


mythological  narratives.  One  poem  describes  the  beginnings  of  crea- 
tion and  gives  accounts  of  male  and  female  gods.  Another  poem, 
the  hero  of  which  is  Marduk,  the  god  of  Babylon,  tells  of  the  crea- 
tion of  man,  followed  by  that  of  animals.  Another  centers  in  the 
heroic  fight  between  iNIarduk  and  the  rebellious  Tiamat,  and  in  the 
creation  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  There  are  cycles  of  stories  dealing 
with  the  eagle,  and  another  cycle  dealing  with  the  winds. 


12  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Most  famous  of  all  is  the  so-called  "Gilgamesh  Epic,"  a  series  of 
twelve  tablets  discovered  in  1872.  Each  tablet  describes  a  separate 
episode.  Gilgamesh,  the  hero,  is  represented  as  delivering  his  coun- 
try from  the  Elamites  (this  must  have  occurred  before  2000  b.c). 
He  then  slays  the  divine  bull  which  is  sent  against  him  by  the  god 
Anu,  the  father  of  the  goddess  Ishtar,  whose  love  had  been  rejected 
by  Gilgamesh.  Ishtar  visits  the  underworld  to  seek  some  further 
means  of  overthrowing  the  hero.  She  enters  seven  gates  in  suc- 
cession and  is  held  a  prisoner,  but  is  subsequently  released.  In  the 
latter  part  of  the  poem  we  learn  the  picturesque  Babylonian  version 
of  the  story  of  the  flood  as  told  to  Gilgamesh  by  Hasisadra,  the 
Babylonian  Noah.  The  Babylonian  legends  of  the  flood  and  of  the 
origin  of  the  world  make  an  interesting  study  in  connection  with 
the  similar  traditions  of  the  Hebrews. 

There  is  a  rhythmical  quality  in  the  Babylonian  poems,  but  no 
regular  meter.  As  in  the  Hebrew  poetry  of  later  times,  parallelism 
is  employed.^ 

Chinese  and  Japanese  Literature 

In  the  Mongolian  centers  civilization  developed  very  early.  As- 
tonishing progress  was  made  in  invention,  science,  art,  and  litera- 
ture— and  then  was  strangely  checked.  The  conservatism  of  the 
Chinese  is  a  marked  characteristic,  continuing  to  our  day.  Dur- 
ing most  of  its  history  China  has  seemed  like  a  second  human  race, 
living  apart  from  the  rest  of  mankind.  Its  literature,  though  un- 
deniably important  in  itself  since  it  has  deeply  impressed  for  a  great 
period  of  time  the  life  and  thought  of  countless  human  beings,  has 
had  little  influence  upon  other  peoples.  The  same  is  true  of  the 
literature  of  Japan.  Our  purpose,  therefore,  is  to  devote  only  pass- 
ing attention  to  the  writings  of  these  two  countries. 

As  long  ago  as  nineteen  hundred  years  a  catalogue  of  standard 
Chinese  literature  was  made,  including  more  than  six  hundred  au- 
thors.   In  1782  there  was  published  a  catalogue  of  the  Imperial 

1  Professor  Toy's  article  in  the  Warner  Library  and  the  accompanying 
extracts  from  the  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  literature  should  be  consulted  by 
the  reader. 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  ORIENT  13 

Library  in  Peking,  comprising  seventy-five  thousand  volumes.  Such 
facts  will  give  a  suggestion  of  the  great  extent  of  Chinese  writings. 
These  writings  comprise  poetry,  history,  biography,  philosophy,  sci- 
ence, fiction,  the  drama — and  still  the  list  is  not  complete.  The 
central  figure  in  the  history  of  China  is  Confucius  (sixth  century 
B.C.).  All  Chinese  literature  is  based  on  the  Five  Classics,  works 
compiled  in  large  part  by  Confucius,  and  the  Four  Books,  in  which 
are  included  his  teachings.  The  former  comprise  "The  Book  of 
Changes,"  a  very  ancient  work  in  sixty-four  chapters,  consisting 
largely  of  divination  ;  "The  Book  of  History,"  which  contains  leg- 
endary history  carried  forward  to  the  twelfth  century  B.C.;  "The 
Book  of  Odes,"  three  hundred  primitive  poems  and  ballads  collected 
by  Confucius;  "The  Book  of  Rites,"  that  overwhelming  body  of 
ceremonials  and  rules  of  behavior  that  have  governed  the  life  of  the 
Chinese  through  the  ages ;  and  the  "Spring  and  Autumn,"  which  is 
a  work  of  history  concerned  with  the  state  of  Lu,  the  birthplace  of 
Confucius.  In  the  Four  Books  the  doctrines  of  Confucianism  are 
set  forth  in  the  great  teacher's  own  words.  These  textbooks  com- 
prise (i)  the  analects,  or  conversations  of  Confucius,  (2)  a  treatise 
on  self-culture,  (3)  a  work  in  thirty-three  chapters  setting  forth  the 
doctrine  of  the  ''golden  medium,"  and  (4)  seven  books  on  Con- 
fucianism by  his  great  disciple  Mencius. 

Poetry  has  enjoyed  the  greatest  popularity  in  China,  and  the 
names  of  Chinese  poets  are  legion,  stretching  over  a  period  of  over 
two  thousand  years.  The  short  lyric  is  the  common  form ;  in 
China  the  epic  has  never  flourished.  An  anthology  made  in  1707 
covered  some  fifty  thousand  poems.  Recently  there  have  appeared 
several  volumes  of  English  renderings  of  Chinese  poems.'  Crace- 
ful  nature  studies,  personal  confessions,  and  brief  moralizings  are 
the  common  themes.  A  number  of  these  poems  seem  to  touch  our 
own  thought  with  startling  closeness.  Interest  has  also  been  taken 
of  late  years  in  Chinese  short  stories  and  plays.  We  may  expect  to 
find  that  an  increasing  amount  of  the  literature  of  China  will  be 
made  available  in  English  as  a  logical  result  of  the  closer  contact  of 
the  West  with  this  ancient  race. 

iThe  collection  undertaken  by  Mr.  Witter  Bynner  is  of  special  interest. 


14  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

In  Japan  the  influence  of  China  became  powerful  during  the 
period  subsequent  to  the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries  of  our  era. 
Before  that  time  a  body  of  old  Japanese  literature  had  been  pro- 
duced, largely  of  a  religious  character ;  but  now  China  furnished  the 
standard  for  the  literary  work  and  thought  of  the  island  empire.  An 
important  original  product  should,  however,  be  mentioned — the 
native  poetry  of  Japan.  While  this  poetry  has  not,  as  a  whole,  been 
as  important  or  as  influential  as  the  poetry  of  China,  the  so-called 
No  plays  of  Japan  have  attracted  much  attention,  especially  of  late, 
and  several  English  translations  have  appeared.  These  dramas  date 
mostly  from  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries.  They  are  writ- 
ten in  prose  and  poetry,  but  the  poetical  element  is  the  larger  and 
more  significant.  They  are  short ;  the  actors  vary  usually  from 
three  to  six  in  number ;  the  story  is  slight  and  is  subordinated  to  the 
characteristic  mystical  element  and  to  the  moral  teaching  involved. 
The  old  spirit  of  Japan  is  enshrined  in  these  plays. 

Modern  Japan  has  been  deeply  influenced  by  Western  civi- 
lization. Its  literature  exhibits  the  stages  of  the  conflict  between  old 
and  new  ideas.  No  writers  of  the  first  importance  seem  to  have  ap- 
peared during  the  modern  period,  but  the  output  of  Japanese  presses 
and  the  general  intellectual  acuteness  of  the  people  of  the  empire 
are  certainly  most  impressive.  The  most  numerous  publications  at 
the  present  time  are  works  of  fiction,  works  on  general  literature 
and  art,  and  writings  in  the  fields  of  the  social  sciences. 

Literature  of  India 

India,  like  Persia,  is  of  interest  to  us  as  an  early  center  of  the 
Aryan  or  Indo-European  civilization.  The  Aryans  pushed  their 
way  into  India  about  two  thousand  years  before  Christ.  The  study 
of  their  ancient  records  has  proved  a  fascinating  branch  of  oriental 
research.  It  involves  the  beginnings  of  the  Aryan  speech ;  it  dis- 
closes a  wealth  of  literary  material ;  most  of  all,  it  affords  a  glimpse 
of  the  early  Aryan  peoples,  their  ideas  and  their  manner  of  life.  In 
the  Vedic  hymns  they  sing  of  the  glory  of  their  gods  and  of  the 
greatness  of  their  own  "Aryan"  (or  "noble")  race.    They  are  seen 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  ORIENT  15 

marching  in  communities  with  the  father  of  the  family  as  leader 
and  priest,  and  later,  in  their  early  settled  home  on  the  banks  of 
the  Indus,  divided  into  tribes.  Their  civilization  is  relatively  high ; 
their  chief  wealth  lies  in  their  cattle ;  they  use  the  horse  as  a  beast 
of  burden  and  as  an  aid  in  their  battles;  they  eat  beef  and  use 
fermented  liquors;  they  sow  seed  in  the  field  and  they  build  boats 
for  use  on  the  river;  blacksmiths,  barbers,  and  other  artisans  are 
familiar  figures  among  them.  In  short,  our  picture  of  these  remote 
forefathers  of  the  Aryan  folk  is  interesting  and  fairly  complete. 

The  literature  of  India  may  be  divided  into  three  periods :  the 
Vedic,  chiefly  from  1500  to  1000  b.c,  but  persisting  several  cen- 
turies longer ;  the  period  of  sectarian  literature,  dating  from  the 
time  of  Buddha  (sixth  century  b.c.)  and  later;  and  the  Sanskrit, 
which  overlapped  the  Vedic  period  and  extended  to  a  period  some 
centuries  after  Christ.  Indian  literature  had  a  comparatively  un- 
broken development  for  three  thousand  years.  In  bulk  it  is  enor- 
mous, exceeding  that  of  Greece  and  Rome  combined.  It  is  also 
original  in  form  and  especially  important  in  the  fields  of  religion 
and  philosophy.  It  embodies  the  ritual  and  the  doctrine  of  a  na- 
tional religion,  Brahmanism,  and  of  a  world  religion,  Buddhism. 
Until  a  few  centuries  after  Buddha's  day  the  literature  of  India  was 
not  reduced  to  writing ;  and  even  then  it  was  not  ordinarily  read,  but 
was  memorized  and  thus  passed  on  from  generation  to  generation. 
The  sheer  effort  of  the  mind  involved  in  the  task  seems  extraordi- 
nary to  us.  When  writing  was  finally  employed,  the  style  was  bor- 
rowed mostly  from  the  northern  Semitic  or  Phoenician  type.  Few 
manuscripts  have  been  preserved  antedating  the  fourteenth  century 
of  our  era,  for  the  reason  that  perishable  material,  mainly  birch  bark 
and  palm  leaves,  was  used  for  the  writing.  After  the  Mohammedan 
conquest  (a.d.  iooo)  paper  was  employed. 

The  ancient  languages  of  India  were  Vedic  and  Sanskrit,  the  one 
related  somewhat  closely  to  the  other.  Popular  dialects  were  in  com- 
mon use  very  early,  and  from  these  have  sprung  the  native  vernac- 
ulars of  our  own  day.  The  Buddhistic  writings  made  use  of  the 
popular  language  of  the  people  of  Buddha's  day,  especially  in 
Buddha's  own  province.   This  is  known  as  Pali. 


i6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  Vedas.  Turning  now  to  the  literature  itself,  we  find  that 
four  very  important  collections  of  hymns,  or  Vedas,  coming  from 
the  earliest  creative  period  have  been  preserved  to  us.  The  chief 
of  these  is  the  Rig  Veda,  which  consists  of  about  one  thousand 
hymns  in  fifteen  different  meters.  The  form  is  rhythmical,  but  the 
rhythm  is  usually  confined  to  the  last  four  syllables  of  each  line. 
There  are  ten  books  in  the  Rig  Veda;  the  authors  were  chiefly 
priests  or  families  of  priests.  The  hymns  are  addressed  to  heaven, 
to  the  dawn,  to  the  sun,  and  even  to  the  earth,  but  in  most  cases  to 
the  divinities,  particularly  to  Fire  (the  fire  of  the  altar,  the  fire  of 
the  lightning,  the  light  of  the  sun),  to  Indra  (the  god  of  the  storm 
and  tempest),  and  to  Soma  (the  personified  god  of  the  intoxicating 
drink  used  in  sacrifices).  For  example,  the  god  of  fire  is  addressed: 
"No  god  indeed,  no  mortal  is  beyond  the  might  of  thee,  the  mighty 
one."  And  the  storm  gods:  "I  hear  their  whips,  almost  close  by, 
when  they  crack  them  in  their  hands ;  they  gain  splendor  on  their 
way.  .  .  .  With  such  strength  as  yours,  you  have  caused  men  to 
tremble,  you  have  caused  the  mountains  to  tremble."^  The  sun 
and  moon  are  praised.  There  are  prayers  for  personal  blessings, 
wedding  and  funeral  hymns,  a  song  of  creation,  and  speculative  and 
philosophical  poems.  The  following  extract  from  the  Vedic  hymn 
to  dawn,  as  translated  by  Hopkins,  is  singularly  beautiful : 

"Aloft  the  lights  of  Dawn,  gleaming  for  beauty,  have  risen  splendid 
as  waves  of  waters.  .  .  .  Thou  revealest  thy  bosom,  adorning  thyself, 
O  Dawn,  and  gleamest  bright  in  thy  greatness.  .  .  .  Thy  ways  are  fair, 
thy  paths  upon  the  mountains.  Thou  goest  in  calm  across  the  waters, 
self-shining  one.  0  thou,  whose  paths  are  wide,  thou  lofty  daughter  of 
the  sky,  bring  to  us  wealth  and  nourishment.  Bring  sustenance,  0  Dawn, 
who  dost  bring  us  good  as  thou  willst.  ...  At  thy  clear  dawning 
the  birds  fly  from  their  nests;  and  [from  their  homes  come]  men  who 
seek  for  food." 

The  late  Vedic  hymn  to  starlit  night  belongs  in  the  same  class : 

"Night  comes,  the  shining  goddess,  who  now  looks  out  afar  with 
many  eyes  and  puts  on  all  her  beauties.  ...  At  thy  appearing  we  go  to 

^Translations  by  Max  Miiller. 


LITER.\TURE  OF  THE  ORIENT  17 

rest  as  birds  fly  home  to  the  tree.  To  rest  come  the  throngs  of  men; 
to  rest,  the  beasts;  to  rest,  the  birds;  and  even  the  greedy  eagles  rest. 
Keep  off  from  us  the  she-wolf  and  the  wolf.  Keep  off  the  thief.  0  bil- 
lowy Night,  and  be  our  savior  now.  0  Night,  as  a  conqueror  brings  a 
herd  of  cattle,  so  do  I  bring  [as  a  sacrifice]  this  Hymn  to  thee." 

Other  Vedic  literature  consists  of  the  Brahmanas,  ritualistic 
works  designed  to  explain  the  Vedic  hymns ;  the  Upanishads,  phil- 
osophical material  in  prose  and  poetry  based  upon  the  Vedas ;  and 
the  Sutras,  manuals  elucidating  the  religious  rites  of  Brahmanism. 

During  the  period  which  followed  the  Brahmanas  two  religious 
sects  greatly  influenced  the  literature  of  India :  Buddhism  and 
Jainism.  The  former  was  based  upon  the  teachings  of  Buddha, 
was  Eastern  in  its  origin,  and  was  entirely  out  of  sympathy  with 
Brahmanism ;  the  latter,  the  Western  sect,  was  more  agreeable  to 
the  older  faith.  The  Pali  literature,  dating  from  this  sectarian 
period,  includes  sermons  and  other  didactic  material  and  histories. 
From  the  Buddhistic  writings  we  take  this  picture  of  the  death  of 
Buddha  (Professor  Rhys  Davids's  translation)  : 

"When  Buddha  was  alone  with  his  disciples,  then  the  Blessed  One  ad- 
dressed the  brethren  and  said  :  'It  may  be,  brethren,  that  there  may  be 
doubt  or  misgiving  in  the  mind  of  some  brother  as  to  the  Buddha,  the 
truth,  the  path  or  the  way.  Inquire,  brethren,  freely.  Do  not  have  to 
reproach  yourselves  afterwards  with  this  thought:  '"Our  Teacher  was 
face  to  face  with  us,  and  we  could  not  bring  ourselves  to  inquire  of 
the  Blessed  One  when  we  were  face  to  face  with  him.'"  And  when  he 
had  thus  spoken  they  sat  silent.  .  .  .  And  the  venerable  Ananda  said, 
'How  wonderful  a  thing.  Lord,  and  how  mar^-ellous !  Verily,  in  this 
whole  assembly  there  is  not  one  brother  who  has  doubt  or  misgiving  as 
to  Buddha,  the  truth,  the  path  or  the  way.'  Then  Buddha  said,  'It  is 
out  of  the  fullness  of  thy  faith  that  thou  hast  spoken,  Ananda.  But  I 
know  it  for  certain.'  .  .  .  Then  the  Blessed  One  addressed  the  breth- 
ren, saying,  'Behold,  brethren.  I  exhort  you,  saying.  Transitory  are  all 
component  things ;  toil  without  ceasing.'  And  these  were  the  last  words 
of  Buddha." 

The  Sanskrit  period.  In  contradistinction  to  the  Vedic  litera- 
ture the  writings  of  the  Sanskrit  period  proper  are  largely  secular, 
not  religious.    They  include  epics  and  Puranas  (literature  of  a  doc- 


1 8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

trinal  character  written  in  epic  verse),  also  curious  and  characteris- 
tic fables,  a  considerable  number  of  dramas  (generally  comedies 
with  numerous  ludicrous  situations) ,  and  a  body  of  lyric  poetry  cele- 
brating love  and  the  beautiful  nature  world  of  India.  We  must 
confine  our  attention  in  this  place  to  two  of  the  great  epics. 

The  Mahabharata,  an  enormous  epic  of  over  two  hundred  thou- 
sand lines  (eight  times  the  length  of  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey 
combined),  signifies  by  its  title  the  "Great  War"  and  celebrates  the 
conflict  of  two  races  or  rival  groups  of  people  who  sought  in  ancient 
times  for  possession  of  the  valley  of  the  Ganges.  The  war  was 
fought,  it  is  interesting  to  note,  on  the  site  of  the  modern  Delhi. 
The  verse  is  heroic,  and  the  story  is  graphic.  However,  the  main 
story  is  broken  by  long  digressions  consisting  of  tales  and  phil- 
osophical discourses.  It  is  probable  that  the  Mahabharata  was 
commenced  three  or  four  centuries  before  Christ  but  was  not  com- 
pleted until  after  many  generations  had  intervened.  This  great 
poem  comes  from  western  India. 

The  Ramayana,  on  the  other  hand,  comes  from  eastern  India.  It 
is  concerned  with  the  wanderings  of  a  national  hero  named  Rama  and 
is  much  more  brief  and  more  romantic  than  the  Mahabharata.  The 
poet  Valmiki  is  reputed  to  be  its  author.  It  was  probably  written  a 
few  centuries  later  than  its  predecessor.  The  Ramayana  includes 
national  legends  and  descriptions  of  religious  systems,  and  involves 
much  symbolism  and  mystery. 

In  recent  times  India  has  earned  an  international  reputation  as  a 
center  of  thought  and  literature.  The  ancient  Indian  classics  have 
become  familiar  and  their  power  is  recognized ;  the  philosophical 
systems  of  India  have  been  generally  exploited  ;  and  in  India  itself 
during  the  last  few  generations  a  veritable  renaissance  has  taken 
place,  especially  in  Bengal.  In  the  field  of  literature  no  such  inter- 
esting figure  has  arisen  in  India  for  many  generations  as  Rabindra- 
nath  Tagore.  He  was  born  in  i860,  of  a  gifted  family  of  Bengal. 
From  his  early  youth  he  has  written  a  great  deal — of  natural  ob- 
jects, of  love,  of  philosophy,  of  the  communion  of  the  soul  with  the 
Infinite.  His  songs  are  sung  in  his  own  province  and  reproduced  in 
other  dialects  of  India.    His  various  writings  in  prose,  drama,  and 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  ORIENT  19 

verse,  written  in  Bengali  and  translated  by  himself  into  English, 
have  gained  for  him  international  prominence.  In  1913  the  Nobel 
prize  for  literature  was  presented  to  him.  Very  few  writers  of  our 
own  day  have  such  deep  culture,  such  rare  gifts,  and  such  powers  of 
expression.  The  subtle  charm  of  Tagore  is  found  at  its  best  in  his 
''song  offerings"  entitled  "Gitanjali."  The  English  edition  bears 
an  eloquent  introduction  by  W.  B.  Yeats.  These  songs  remind  us 
of  the  Belgian  Maeterlinck  and  of  the  choicest  poets  of  Ireland  ;  all 
lovers  of  beauty  must  be  deeply  moved  by  them,  for  they  belong  to 
the  high  tide  of  the  poetry  of  our  generation.^ 

Persian  Literature 

It  is  natural  to  consider  Persian  literature  in  connection  with  that 
of  India,  for  both  had  their  beginnings  in  the  Iranian  region  before 
these  two  branches  of  the  Aryan  people  separated.  As  Professor 
Jackson  says,"  "The  morning  stars  sang  together  when  poetry  was 
born  in  these  distant  lands,  and  poesy's  youthful  voice  was  first 
lifted  in  a  sacred  hymn  of  praise,  alike  in  the  region  of  the  Indus 
and  the  Ganges  and  in  the  realm  of  the  Caspian  Sea  and  the 
Persian  Gulf." 

There  are  three  distinct  periods  in  Persian  literature.  The  first  is 
termed  the  Old  Iranian,  and  this  centers  in  the  sacred  writings  of 
the  prophet  and  teacher  named  Zarathushtra,  or  Zoroaster  (seventh 
century  b.c.  or  earlier)  ;  the  second,  termed  Middle  or  Pahlavi,  ex- 
tends from  the  third  to  the  ninth  or  tenth  century  of  our  era ;  the 
third,  or  the  New,  dates  properly  from  the  time  of  the  Mohammedan 
conquest  (a.d.  641).  Old  Persian  is  closely  allied  to  Sanskrit ;  the 
same  is  true  of  Pahlavi  and  modern  Persian,  though  changes  have 
naturally  taken  place  through  the  centuries. 

^  Others  of  Rabindranath  TaRore's  wrilinRs  will  also  be  of  interest,  such 
as  "The  Gardener"  (early  lyric  poems  of  love  and  life),  "The  Crescent 
Moon"  (a  series  of  child  poems),  and  a  philosophical  work  entitled  "Si- 
dhana :  the  Realization  of  Life."  The  last-named  book  is  a  straightforward, 
interesting  account  of  the  great  religious  scriptures  of  India,  with  many 
quotations. 

2See  the  interesting  chapter  in  "Lectures  in  Literature."  published  by  the 
Columbia  University  Press. 


20  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  old  Persian  records  include  a  number  of  cuneiform  inscrip- 
tions. Most  interesting  of  these  is  a  series  consisting  of  five  histori- 
cal tablets  carved  by  order  of  Darius  I  on  the  side  of  the  mountain 
at  Behistun.  The  Avesta  or  Zend-Avesta  is  the  most  considerable 
literary  monument  of  old  Persia.  It  is  the  only  portion  preserved 
of  a  once  very  considerable  literature.  (The  Roman  Pliny  tells  us 
of  two  million  verses  composed  by  Zoroaster  ! )  A  series  of  hymns 
in  verse  is  the  most  sacred  portion  of  the  Avesta.  This  bible  of  the 
Zoroastrian  religion  also  contains  many  texts  and  prayers,  legal 
and  ritualistic  matter,  and  the  Old  Iranian  account  of  creation. 
Zoroaster  tells  of  his  communion  with  the  god  Ormazd  and  of 
heaven  and  the  future,  and  like  a  true  prophet  he  calls  upon  man- 
kind to  repent.  The  Avesta  has  been  made  accessible  to  Europeans 
largely  within  the  last  century ;  the  history  of  its  translation  into 
European  languages  and  of  the  critical  work  done  in  connection 
with  it  is  of  great  interest. 

During  the  Pahlavi  period  very  little  of  consequence  in  the  his- 
tory of  literature  was  produced.  The  writings  included  translations 
of  the  Avesta  and  commentaries  on  it,  texts  on  religion,  histories, 
and  even  romances. 

The  New  period,  on  the  other  hand,  contains  a  large  body  of  at- 
tractive material,  and  this  is  what  we  commonly  think  of  as  Persian 
literature.  First,  we  note  the  poet  Firdausi  (born  a.  d.  935),  whose 
chief  work  was  the  epic  "Shah  Namah,"  or  "Book  of  Kings";  it 
occupied  him  thirty-five  years.  The  first  edition  of  this  epic  ap- 
peared in  loio.  It  is  designed  to  cover  the  history  of  Persia  from 
the  earliest  mythical  times,  3600  B.C.,  to  the  Mohammedan  con- 
quest. It  is  a  vast  work  of  sixty  thousand  couplets  and  is  concerned 
mainly  with  the  wars  between  the  Iranians  and  the  Turanians. 
There  are  some  episodes  of  special  attractiveness,  such  as  that  of 
'Sohrab  and  Rustum  used  by  ]\Iatthew  Arnold  in  his  poem  of  that 
title.  The  New  period  contains  other  epic  poems,  historical  and 
romantic,  and  dramas,  novels,  short  stories,  legends,  and  fables,  to 
say  nothing  of  examples  of  other  branches  of  literature.  But  the  lit- 
erature of  this  period  is  mainly  in  lyric  verse.  It  has  been  said  that 
"Persia  is  the  land  of  lyric  poetry,  the  home  of  the  nightingale  and 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  ORIENT  21 

the  rose."  Persian  poems  do  not  cover  a  wide  range  of  subjects  and 
are  somewhat  artificial,  but  they  show  a  great  perfection  in  form 
and  are  euphonious  to  a  degree.  Love  and  wine  are  the  themes 
commonly  celebrated  in  Persian  lyrics.  There  is  a  body  of  court 
poetry  and  of  religious  and  didactic  poetry  as  well. 

Omar  Khayyam.  The  wonderfully  lyric  verse  of  Persian  poets 
has  attracted  Western  readers  for  several  generations,  and  many 
English  translations  have  been  made,  Omar  Khayyam  (twelfth 
century)  and  Hafiz  (fourteenth  century)  have  found  more  English 
readers  than  any  other  Persian  poets.  The  superb  renderings  by 
Edward  Fitzgerald  of  the  ''Rubaiyat"  of  Omar  Khayyam  may  be 
classed  with  the  finest  English  translations  of  any  foreign  poetry. 
Omar  was  a  poet-astronomer  who  lived  in  the  city  of  Xishapur. 
Over  twelve  hundred  quatrains  (four-line  stanzas)  are  credited 
to  him.  Omar  Khayyam's  subject  matter  consists  of  complaints 
against  fate  and  the  world's  injustice,  comments  on  the  insincerity 
of  the  pious,  love  poems  on  separation  and  reunion,  poems  in  praise 
of  spring  and  flowers,  satirical  utterances  deriding  orthodox  beliefs 
and  praising  wine  and  pleasure,  and,  finally,  poems  of  devotion  and 
contrition.'  Fitzgerald's  selections  cover  about  one  hundred  quat- 
rains, fully  half  of  which  are  faithful  and  beautiful  paraphrases  of 
the  original,  and  the  remainder  more  or  less  close  transcriptions  of 
the  thought  of  the  Persian  poet.  Some  of  the  most  striking  of  Fitz- 
gerald's versions  are  the  following : 

VII 

"Come,  fill  the  Cup,  and  in  the  fire  of  Spring 
Your  Winter-garment  of  Repentance  tling : 
The  Bird  of  Time  has  but  a  little  way 
To  flutter — and  the  Bird  is  on  the  Wing." 

XVI 

"The  Worldly  Hope  men  set  their  Hearts  upon 
Turns  Ashes — or  it  prospers  ;  and  anon. 

Like  Snow  upon  the  Desert's  dusty  Face, 
Lighting  a  little  hour  or  two — is  gone." 

1  Summarized  from  Winfield's  analysis. 


22  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

XXI 

"Ah,  my  Beloved,  fill  the  Cup  that  clears 
TO-DAY  of  past  Regrets  and  future  Fears : 
To-morrow ! — Why,  To-morrow  I  may  be 
Myself  with  Yesterday's  Sev'n  thousand  Years." 


XXVII 

"Myself  when  young  did  eagerly  frequent 
Doctor  and  Saint,  and  heard  great  argument 

About  it  and  about :  but  evermore 
Came  out  by  the  same  door  where  in  I  went. 

XXVIII 

"With  them  the  seed  of  Wisdom  did  I  sow, 
And  with  mine  own  hand  wrought  to  make  it  grow ; 

And  this  was  all  the  Harvest  that  I  reap'd — 
'I  came  like  Water,  and  Hke  Wind  I  go.'" 

XLVI 

"And  fear  not  lest  Existence  closing  your 
Account,  and  mine,  should  know  the  hke  no  more ; 

The  Eternal  Saki  from  that  Bowl  has  pour'd 
Millions  of  Bubbles  like  us,  and  will  pour. 

XLVII 

"When  You  and  I  behind  the  Veil  are  past, 
Oh,  but  the  long,  long  while  the  World  shall  last, 

Which  of  our  Coming  and  Departure  heeds 
As  the  Sea's  self  should  heed  a  pebble-cast." 

LXIV 

"Strange,  is  it  not?  that  of  the  myriads  who 
Before  us  pass'd  the  door  of  Darkness  through, 

Not  one  returns  to  tell  us  of  the  Road, 
Whidi  to  discover  we  must  travel  too." 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  ORIENT  23 

LXVI 

"I  sent  my  Soul  through  the  Invisible, 
Some  letter  of  that  After-life  to  spell : 

And  by  and  by  my  Soul  return'd  to  me, 
And  answerd  'I  Myself  am  Heav'n  and  Hell.'" 

LXVIII 

"We  are  no  other  than  a  moving  row 
Of  Magic  Shadow-shapes  that  come  and  go 

Round  with  the  Sun-illumined  Lantern  held 
In  Midnight  by  the  Master  of  the  Show ; 

LXIX 

"But  helpless  Pieces  of  the  Game  He  plays 
Upon  this  Chequer-board  of  Nights  and  Days ; 

Hither  and  thither  moves,  and  checks,  and  slays, 
And  one  by  one  back  in  the  Closet  lays." 


"Yon  rising  Moon  that  looks  for  us  again — 
How  oft  hereafter  will  she  wax  and  wane ; 

How  oft  hereafter  rising  look  for  us 
Through  this  same  Garden — and  for  one  in  vain! 

CI 

"And  when  like  her,  oh  Saki,  you  shall  pass 
Among  the  Guests  Star-scatter'd  on  the  Grass, 

And  in  your  joyous  errand  reach  the  spot 
Where  I  made  One — turn  down  an  empty  Glass!" 

Hafiz,  like  Omar  Khayyam,  is  remembered  not  alone  for  his 
work  as  a  poet.  He  had  a  scientific  mind.  He  lectured  on  theology 
and  philosophy.  Curious  biographical  data  have  been  preserved  — 
of  his  travels,  his  interview  with  Tinnir  the  Great,  his  infidelity  to 
the  orthodox  Mohammedan  faith,  and  other  items.  He  died  close 
to  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century. 


24  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  poems  of  Hafiz  are  concerned  sometimes  with  individuals, 
but  they  deal  chiefly  with  wine,  love,  youth  and  beauty,  the  spring, 
and  the  rose  and  the  nightingale.  It  is  quite  possible  that  a  mystic 
or  philosophic  meaning  may  be  hidden  in  even  the  most  straight- 
forward and  transparent  of  these  poems.  The  delight  that  Hafiz 
showed  in  nature,  the  entire  naturalness  of  his  poems,  his  clear 
style  and  unique  expression,  have  won  for  him  a  host  of  admirers. 
He  excels  especially  in  his  odes  entitled  "ghazals,"  poems  from  five 
to  sixteen  couplets  in  length.  The  riming-scheme  is  elaborate ;  the 
signature  of  the  poet  is  commonly  worked  into  the  last  verse ;  and 
in  the  arrangement  of  the  ghazals  an  alphabetical  plan  is  followed, 
based  on  the  initial  word  of  the  successive  poems. 

The  principal  poetical  work  of  Hafiz  is  the  "Divan,"  a  collection 
of  about  seven  hundred  separate  poems,  mostly  ghazals.  Richard 
Le  Gallienne,  Justin  Huntley  McCarthy,  Walter  Leaf,  H.  Bicknell, 
and  Miss  G.  L.  Bell,  among  others,  have  made  translations  of  the 
poems  in  the  "Divan."  Miss  Bell's  translations  may  be  especially 
commended.  Apart  from  Fitzgerald's  "Rubaiyat"  they  are  per- 
haps the  finest  English  poetical  renderings  of  any  Persian  poet. 
The  following  is  a  portion  of  Miss  Bell's  translation  of  the  ode 
engraved  on  Hafiz's  tombstone : 

"Pour  down,  0  Lord !  from  the  clouds  of  Thy  guiding  grace 
The  rain  of  a  mercy  that  quickeneth  on  my  grave, 
Before,  like  dust  that  the  wind  bears  from  place  to  place, 
I  arise  and  flee  beyond  the  knowledge  of  man. 
When  to  my  grave  thou  turnest  thy  blessed  feet. 
Wine  and  the  lute  shalt  thou  bring  in  thy  hand  to  me, 
Thy  voice  shall  ring  through  the  folds  of  my  winding-sheet, 
And  I  will  arise  and  dance  to  thy  minstrelsy. 
Though  I  be  old,  clasp  me  one  night  to  thy  breast, 
And  I,  when  the  dawn  shall  come  to  awaken  me, 
With  the  flash  of  youth  on  my  cheek  from  thy  bosom  will  rise. 
Rise  up!   let  mine  eyes  delight  in  thy  stately  grace! 
Thou  art  the  goal  to  which  all  men's  endeavor  has  pressed, 
And  thou  the  idol  of  Hafiz's  worship ;  thy  face 
From  the  world  and  life  shall  bid  him  come  forth  and  arise ! " 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  ORIENT 


25 


Arabic  Literature 

The  literature  of  Arabia  is  rich  and  varied,  comprising  poetry^ 
anecdote,  the  typical  oriental  tale  or  romance,  history,  philosophy, 
and  religious  treatise.  Our  pictures  of  the  Orient  are  inevitably 
colored  by  the  luxurious,  fan- 
tastic, and  racy  tales  of  Arabia 
and  the  Moslem  world.  We 
hark  back  to  the  great  days 
of  Bagdad,  Cairo,  and  Cor- 
dova ;  visions  of  the  crowded 
bazaars,  the  mosques,  Arab 
sheiks,  veiled  women,  and 
Haroun  al-Rashid  beset  us. 
and  we  breathe  an  air  of  mys- 
tery and  enchantment. 

The  classic  period  of  Arabic 
poetry  was  just  beforeand  dur- 
ing the  time  of  Mohammed 
(seventh  century).  A  fixed 
poetic  form  and  content  of  a 
high  order  of  merit  became 
prevalent.  The  poets  told  of 
the  Arab  life — the  stretches 
of  desert,  the  oases,  the  camels 
and  antelopes,  the  joys  of  the 
chase,  the  life  of  the  tribe. 
The  poems  were  passed  from 
mouth  to  mouth  and  became 

the  common  possession  of  the  Arabs.  The  succeeding  period  wit- 
nessed the  development  of  city  life  and  the  characteristic  Moslem 
culture  in  such  centers  as  Bagdad  and  Cairo.  Arab  Spain  pro- 
duced an  enormous  amount  of  poetry,  as  an  anthology  of  twenty 
thousand  verses  collected  in  the  tenth  century  bears  witness. 
Hakim,  the  patron  of  literature,  collected  in  Cordova  a  library  said 
to  contain  four  hundred  thousand  volumes.    As  the  Arab  poetic 


A  PAGE    (chapter  FIRST)   OF  A  MANU- 
SCRIPT COPY  OF  THE  KORAN,  THE  BIBLE 
OF  THE   MOSLEMS 


26  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

spirit  died  out  other  branches  of  literature  flourished,  more  par- 
ticularly anecdote  and  tale  and  a  vast  body  of  religious  interpreta- 
tion and  commentary.  Arabia  was  the  home  of  the  Koran,  and  the 
Koran  dominated  the  whole  Moslem  world.  We  have  such  excel- 
lent translations  as  Sale's  and  Lane's,  but  whatever  interest  the 
Koran  may  have  for  us  exists  more  in  the  field  of  religion  than 
of  literature. 

The  Arabian  Nights.  To  the  Western  reader  the  strange,  allur- 
ing, exotic  life  of  the  East  is  embodied  for  all  time  in  the  Arabian 
Nights.  This  famous  collection  of  tales  first  became  known  to 
Europe  through  the  French  translation  by  Galland  in  the  early 
eigtheenth  century.  Since  that  time  the  characters  of  the  Nights — 
Haroun  al-Rashid,  Scheherazade,  the  calenders,  Ali  Baba,  Sindbad, 
Aladdin,  and  a  host  of  others — have  given  delight  to  all  the  world. 

The  date  of  the  Nights  is  variously  estimated,  but  may  be  placed 
with  some  certainty  as  late  as  the  thirteenth  or  fourteenth  cen- 
tury of  our  era.  The  many  accurate  pictures  of  the  life  of  Cairo  of 
that  period  seem  to  point  to  that  city  as  the  place  of  their  final  col- 
lection. But  the  tales  themselves  have  their  source  in  many  coun- 
tries and  reach  back  many  centuries.  It  has  been  pointed  out  that 
West  Africa,  Egypt,  and  Syria  are  represented  in  the  tales ;  so  is 
ancient  India ;  the  afrits  and  genii  and  many  other  references  carry 
us  to  Persia ;  at  least  one  of  the  stories  seems  to  be  indebted  to  the 
Odyssey  of  Homer,  and  another  to  the  Hebrew  book  of  Esther; 
while  the  pictures  of  Bagdad  in  the  great  epoch  of  Haroun  al-Rashid 
remind  us  constantly  of  the  Arabian  ]\Ioslem  capital  in  its  heyday. 
Burton  expresses  it  as  his  conviction  that  the  framework  is  Persian, 
that  the  oldest  tales  go  back  to  the  eighth  century,  that  the  nucleus 
may  be  placed  in  the  tenth  century,  and  that  the  authorship  of 
necessity  is  composite. 

The  medieval  Arab,  as  Burton  also  makes  clear,  is  shown  quite 
frankly  at  his  best  and  worst.  There  is  a  certain  nobility  clinging 
to  him.  The  boy  is  respectful  to  his  parents,  a  good  comrade,  a 
thorough  student,  a  gentleman  in  his  manners.  The  man  is  cou- 
rageous, loyal  to  his  sultan  and  his  faith,  hospitable  to  strangers, 
temperate,  and  self-reliant.    He  may  be  depended  upon  as  a  friend 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  ORIENT  27 

and  father  and  husband,  and  he  is  the  soul  of  honor  and  chivalry. 
He  is  inherently  reverent,  resigned  to  the  decrees  of  fate  and  of 
Allah,  and  he  is  instinctively  kind  to  the  poor  and  afflicted.  He 
looks  forward  with  confidence  to  the  life  beyond. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Arab  of  the  Nights  shows  many  traits  that 
are  far  from  admirable.  He  frequently  displays  the  barbarian. 
"He  is  a  model  mixture  of  childishness  and  astuteness,  of  simplicity 
and  cunning,  concealing  levity  of  mind  under  solemnity  of  aspect." 
He  is  indolent,  overbearing,  intolerant,  superstitious.  He  is  fanatical 
by  nature  and  hates  every  creed  but  Islam. 

The  tales  are  loosely  strung  together  by  a  familiar  device.  There 
is  a  certain  king  of  India,  so  the  prologue  tells,  who,  because  of  his 
wife's  infidelity,  determines  to  destroy  all  the  women  of  his  king- 
dom, marrying  them  one  by  one  and  destroying  each  on  the  morn- 
ing succeeding  her  marriage.  The  women  are  in  consternation,  but 
are  saved  by  the  wit  of  the  vizier's  daughter,  Scheherazade,  who 
contrives  to  tell  the  king  such  fascinating  tales  that  her  expected 
execution  is  delayed  for  a  thousand  and  one  nights,  until  the  king 
no  longer  cherishes  any  hate  in  his  heart  for  womankind.  Thus  we 
have  the  tales  of  the  Thousand  and  One  Nights,  compiled  from 
various  sources  and  very  unequal  in  value,  but  presenting  as  a 
whole  a  wonderful  kaleidoscopic  picture  of  the  life  of  the  East. 

It  is  not  a  finished  work  of  literature,  but  in  such  translations  as 
Payne's  or  Burton's  it  approximates  literature,  for  under  their 
skillful  hands  the  frequent  slovenliness  of  the  original  disappears. 
Lane's  translation,  though  more  familiar,  is  less  readable.  The  edit- 
ing of  Burton's  translation  displays  vast  erudition ;  indeed,  all  of 
his  contributions  to  the  study  of  the  East  are  important.  The 
Western  reader  will,  however,  do  well  to  avoid  a  complete  literal 
translation  of  the  Arabian  Xights,  both  because  of  its  bulk  (sixteen 
volumes  in  the  Burton  edition)  and  because  of  its  frequent  coarse- 
ness, tiresome  details,  and  repetition  of  incidents. 

A  comparison  of  a  free  and  popular  version,  such  as  Jonathan 
Scott's,  with  the  literal  yet  poetic  translation  of  Burton's,  is  curi- 
ously interesting. 


28 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


SINDBAD'S  FIRST  VOYAGE 


Scott's  version 

"One  day,  whilst  under  sail,  we 
were  becalmed  near  a  small  is- 
land, but  little  elevated  above  the 
level  of  the  water,  and  resembling 
a  green  meadow.  The  captain 
ordered  his  sails  to  be  furled,  and 
permitted  such  persons  as  were 
so  inclined  to  land ;  of  this  num- 
ber I  was  one.  But  while  we  were 
enjoying  ourselves  in  eating  and 
drinking,  and  recovering  ourselves 
from  the  fatigue  of  the  sea,  the 
island  on  a  sudden  trembled,  and 
shook  us  terribly.  The  trembUng 
of  the  island  was  perceived  on 
board  the  ship,  and  we  were  called 
upon  to  re-embark  speedily,  or  we 
should  all  be  lost ;  for  what  we 
took  for  an  island  proved  to  be 
the  back  of  a  sea  monster." 


Burton's  version 

"We  came  to  an  island  as  it 
were  a  garth  of  the  gardens  of 
Paradise.  Here  the  captain  cast 
anchor  and  making  fast  to  the 
shore,  put  out  the  landing  planks. 
So  all  on  board  landed  and  made 
furnaces  and  lighting  fires  therein, 
busied  themselves  in  various  ways, 
some  cooking  and  some  washing, 
whilst  other  some  walked  about 
the  island  for  solace,  and  the  crew 
fell  to  eating  and  drinking  and 
playing  and  sporting.  I  was  one 
of  the  walkers  but,  as  we  were 
thus  engaged,  behold  the  master 
who  was  standing  on  the  gunwale 
cried  out  to  us  at  the  top  of  his 
voice,  saying,  'Ho  there!  passen- 
gers, run  for  your  lives  and  hasten 
back  to  the  ship  and  leave  your 
gear  and  save  yourselves  from  de- 
struction, Allah  preserve  you ! 
For  this  island  whereon  ye  stand 
is  no  true  island,  but  a  great  fish 
stationary  a-middlemost  of  the  sea, 
whereon  the  sand  hath  settled  and 
trees  have  sprung  up  of  old  time, 
so  that  it  is  become  like  unto  an 
island;  but,  when  ye  hghted  fires 
on  it,  it  felt  the  heat  and  moved : 
and  in  a  moment  it  will  sink  with 
you  into  the  sea  and  ye  will  all 
be  drowned,  so  leave  your  gear 
and  seek  your  safety  ere  ye  die.'" 

The  material  of  the  Thousand  and  One  Nights  presents  a  great 
variety  but  falls  readily  under  a  few  heads.    There  are  histories, 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  ORIENT 


29 


some  of  them  very  long,  romantic  in  character  or  with  romantic 
episodes,  but  founded  to  some  extent  on  known  facts.  There  are 
many  historical  anecdotes,  largely  concerned  with  a  certain  line 
of  caliphs.  There  are  fairy  tales  or  romantic  stories — and  these 
seem  to  be  the  characteristic  part  of  the  whole — with  supernatural 

elements ;  and  other  tales     j^ —         3^^ 

told  for  the  sake  of  the  phi-      ^^^K^,.^^S  ^W 

losophy  or  erudition  which 
they  display;  and,  finally, 
there  are  beast  fables.  The 
verses  which  are  strung 
through  the  stories  are 
taken  from  the  classical 
Arabic  poetry  and  from 
favorites  of  later  times; 
they  are  of  unequal  merit, 
some  with  beautiful  im- 
agery- and  others  quite  com- 
monplace in  sentiment. 

From  the  opening  words, 
''In  the  name  of  Allah,  the 
compassionating,  the  com- 
passionate! Praise  be  to 
Allah,  the  beneficent  king, 
the  creator  of  the  universe, 
lord  of  the  three  worlds," 

it  will  be  seen  that  these  tales  display  the  reverence  and  religiosity 
of  the  orthodox  Moslem ;  and  they  throw  an  interesting  light  on 
the  customs  and  beliefs  of  the  Mohammedan  world. 

Let  us  call  to  mind  the  material  of  a  characteristic  Arabian 
Nights  tale ; 

Prince  Camaralzaman  is  a  promising  youth,  the  son  of  the  king  of 
an  island  realm.  When  he  reaches  fifteen  years  of  age  his  father  plans 
to  retire  in  his  favor,  and  he  urges  the  youth  to  marry.  The  prince  con- 
ceives that  "infinite  mischief"  is  caused  by  women,  and  is  alarmed  at 


A   STREET   IN    BAGDAD 


30  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

the  thought  of  the  hazard  a  man  is  obliged  to  run  in  selecting  a  wife. 
The  discussion  continues  for  two  years,  when  the  prince,  still  obdurate, 
is  immured  in  a  tower  by  his  father. 

A  similar  situation  arises  in  China,  where  the  emperor  has  a  daughter 
as  fair  as  the  dawn,  who  rejects  all  her  suitors  one  by  one  until  her 
father  in  anger  holds  her  captive  in  a  single  apartment  of  his  palace. 

In  a  wall  in  the  prince's  tower  a  fairy,  Maimoune,  makes  her  home. 
She  discovers  the  prince  and  finds  him  the  handsomest  of  Allah's  crea- 
tures. An  evil  genie,  Danhasch,  in  the  course  of  his  wanderings,  ob- 
serves Badur,  the  princess  of  China,  and  is  ravished  by  her  beauty. 
Maimoune  and  Danhasch  meet  by  chance  while  they  are  flying  in  mid- 
air. Contending  over  the  beauty  of  prince  and  princess,  they  resolve 
to  compare  them  side  by  side,  and  the  genie  transports  the  princess 
as  by  a  flash  of  lightning  to  the  tower  where  the  prince  lies  asleep. 
The  prince  awakes,  falls  desperately  in  love  with  Badur,  exchanges 
rings  with  her,  and  falls  asleep  again.  The  princess  is  aroused.  She 
in  her  turn  is  enamored  of  Camaralzaman  and  decides  forthwith  that 
if  this  is  the  suitor  provided  by  her  father  she  is  finally  of  an  agree- 
able mind.  She  sleeps  and  is  returned  by  the  genie  to  her  palace  in 
China. 

In  the  morning  the  prince  demands  the  hand  of  his  princess  in  mar- 
riage, but  no  princess  can  be  found,  and  in  his  sorrow  he  wastes  away 
on  a  bed  of  sickness.  Badur  tells  of  her  experiences  and  is  looked  upon 
as  mad.  Her  father  proclaims  that  anyone  who  will  cure  her  is  to 
marry  her  and  become  heir  to  the  throne,  but  anyone  who  fails  is  to 
die.  The  task  is  difficult,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  turn  lose  their 
lives.  Badur  has  a  nurse,  whose  son  Marzavan  is  a  sort  of  foster 
brother  of  hers.  He  returns  from  a  journey,  learns  the  court  news, 
and  is  secretly  introduced  to  Badur's  apartment,  where  he  agrees  to 
travel  far  and  wide  to  locate  Prince  Camaralzaman. 

Marzavan  journeys  for  four  months  and  then  reaches  a  region  where 
there  is  talk  of  the  prince  and  of  his  unfortunate  illness.  Marzavan  fol- 
lows the  clue,  presents  himself,  and  gives  out  that  he  can  effect  a  cure. 
This  he  does  marvelously,  and  he  and  Camaralzaman  escape  from  the 
island  kingdom  and  make  their  way  to  China.  Here  Camaralzaman  in- 
troduces himself  as  a  skilled  astrologer  and  offers  to  restore  Badur. 
All  wonder  at  his  youth  and  beauty  and  attempt  to  dissuade  him,  but 
in  vain.  He  sends  a  note  disclosing  his  identity  and  inclosing  the 
princess's  ring,  and  Badur  rushing  out  to  greet  him  falls  into  her  lover's 
arms.  There  is  great  rejoicing  and  a  magnificent  wedding.  The  feasting 
continues  for  several  months. 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  ORIENT  31 

Time  fails  to  tell  of  Camaralzaman  and  Badur's  further  adventures, 
their  separation  on  the  way  to  the  prince's  father's  home,  the  loss  of 
Badur's  talisman,  Camaralzaman's  danger  in  the  city  of  the  idolaters,  his 
discovery  of  an  underground  treasure,  the  miraculous  recovery  of  the 
talisman,  the  happy  reunion,  etc.  It  is  a  tale  of  pure  romance,  and  about 
it  hangs  the  glamor  of  the  East. 

We  have  all  dwelt  in  this  enchanted  land  and  have  been  en- 
thralled at  some  time  or  other  by  these  wonderful  tales.  The  very 
titles  bring  back  vivid  memories :  ''Story  of  the  Three  Calenders," 
"Voyages  of  Sindbad  the  Sailor,"  ''History  of  Ganem,  the  Slave  of 
Love,"  "Story  of  the  Hunchback,"  "Story  of  Aladdin  and  the  Won- 
derful Lamp,"  "Story  of  Ali  Baba  and  the  Forty  Thieves,"  "Story 
of  the  Enchanted  Horse."  And  we  feel  grateful  to  the  sultan  of  the 
Indies  who  needed  entertainment  to  cure  him  of  his  cruel  designs, 
and  to  the  lovely  Scheherazade  who  told  the  tales. 

"A  thousand  and  one  nights  had  passed  away  in  these  innocent 
amusements,  which  contributed  so  much  towards  removing  the  sultan's 
unhappy  prejudice  against  the  fidelity  of  women.  His  temper  was 
softened.  He  was  convinced  of  the  merit  and  great  wisdom  of  the  sul- 
taness  Scheherazade.  He  remembered  with  what  courage  she  had  offered 
to  be  his  wife,  without  fearing  the  death  to  which  she  knew  she  exposed 
herself,  as  so  many  sultanesses  had  suffered  within  her  knowledge. 

"These  considerations,  and  the  many  other  good  qualities  he  knew 
her  to  possess,  induced  him  at  last  to  forgive  her.  'I  see,  lovely  Sche- 
herazade,' said  he,  'that  you  can  never  be  at  a  loss  for  these  little 
stories,  which  have  so  long  diverted  me.  You  have  appeased  my  anger. 
I  freely  renounce  the  law  I  had  imposed  on  myself.  I  restore  your  sex 
to  my  favourable  opinion,  and  will  have  you  to  be  regarded  as  the  de- 
liverer of  the  many  damsels  I  had  resolved  to  sacrifice  to  my  unjust 
resentment.' 

"The  sultaness  cast  herself  at  his  feet,  and  embraced  them  tenderly 
with  all  the  marks  of  the  most  lively  and  perfect  gratitude. 

"The  grand  vizier  was  the  first  who  learned  this  agreeable  intelli- 
gence from  the  sultan's  own  mouth.  It  was  instantly  carried  to  the 
city,  towns,  and  provinces ;  and  gained  the  sultan,  and  the  lovely  Sche- 
herazade his  consort,  universal  applause,  and  the  blessings  of  ail  the 
people  of  the  extensive  empire  of  the  Indies."^ 

1  Translation  by  Scott. 


32  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

A  Few  General  Reference  Works 

Warner.   Library  of  the  World's  Best  Literature  (45  vols.) .   United  States 

Publishers  Association. 
LoLiEE.   A  History  of  Comparative  Literature.    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 
MouLTON.    World  Literature.    The  Macmillan  Company. 
Carlyle.    Lectures  on  the  History  of  Literature.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Lectures  on  Literature.    Columbia  University  Press. 
There  are  several  collections  of  classics,  of  which  Everyman's  Library  is  the 

most  complete.   Send  to  E.  P.  Button  &  Company  for  list. 


Reference  List 

Breasted.   Ancient  Times.    Ginn  and  Company. 

Breasted.    History  of  Egypt.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Warner  Library.   Articles  on  Egyptian  literature  and  other  similar  articles. 

Max  MiJLLER  (Ed.).  Sacred  Books  of  the  East  (50  vols.).  Oxford  Uni- 
versity Press. 

Trubner.    Oriental  Series  (about  50  vols.).    Kegan  Paul,  London. 

LuzAC.  Semitic  Text  and  Translation  Series  (18  vols.).  Luzac  and  Com- 
pany, London. 

HoRNE  (Ed.).  Sacred  Books  and  Early  Literature  of  the  East  (14  vols.). 
Parke,  Austin,  and  Lipscomb. 

Literatures  of  the  World.  D.  Appleton  and  Company.  Volumes  on  Chinese, 
Japanese,  Sanskrit,  and  Arabic  literatures. 

Frazer.    A  Literary  History  of  India.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Browne.   A  Literary  History  of  Persia  (2  vols.).    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Nicholson.  A  Literary  History  of  the  Arabs.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Breasted.  Development  of  Religion  and  Thought  in  Ancient  Egypt. 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Maspero.    Popular  Stories  of  Ancient  Egypt.    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 

Harper.   Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Letters.   University  of  Chicago  Press. 

Hopkins.   The  Great  Epic  of  India.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Dutt  (Tr.).  The  Ramayana  and  the  Mahabharata  (Everyman's  Library). 
E.  P.  Button  &  Company. 

Taylor.  Prophets,  Poets,  and  Philosophers  of  the  Ancient  World.  The 
Macmillan  Company. 

Tagore.    Several  volumes.    The  Macmillan  Company. 

Several  other  works  have  been  mentioned  in  the  text  of  the  chapter. 

Suggested  Topics 

Egyptian  literature  and  thought. 

A  geographical  study  of  Asia. 

The  maxims  of  Confucius. 

The  migrations  of  the  Indo-Europeans. 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  ORIENT  33 

Religions  of  Asia — a  comparative  view. 

The  epics  of  India. 

Rabindranath  Tagore  and  his  writings. 

The  Shah  Namah  of  Persia. 

Omar  Khayyam  and  his  philosophy  of  life. 

The  typical  life  and  thought  of  the  East. 

Tales  from  the  Arabian  Nights. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  BIBLE  AS  LITERATURE 

The  Hebrew  people  have  made  by  far  the  greatest  contribution 
to  the  literature  of  the  East.  It  is  the  East  that  has  developed  the 
religious  systems  of  the  world,  and  here  too  the  Hebrew  contribu- 
tion is  preeminent — unmatched  in  purity  of  thought,  in  profound 
understanding  of  the  problems  of  life,  and  in  depth  of  spiritual  in- 
sight. The  poetic  imagery  and  the  sustained  and  pellucid  narra- 
tive, to  say  nothing  of  the  religious  ideas,  of  the  books  of  the  Old 
and  the  New  Testament  make  a  universal  appeal.  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  a  few  centuries  ago  our  ancestors  were  called  ''the 
people  of  a  Book,"  or  that  in  our  more  complex  days  the  Bible  con- 
tinues to  be  the  most  widely  distributed  of  books  in  our  language, 
as  in  most  languages.  It  has  been  used  on  occasion  as  a  source  of 
despotic  dogma  and  as  an  authority  on  all  matters  of  history  and 
science,  but  more  commonly  as  the  determining  rule  of  life  for  the 
guidance  of  men.  Our  own  study  of  it,  however,  in  this  place  will 
be  based  upon  its  value  as  a  work  of  literature. 

Contents.  The  Old  Testament,  as  given  in  our  English  Bible, 
consists  of  thirty-nine  books,  comprising  prophetical,  or  prophetical- 
historical,  legal,  and  poetic  writings  dating  from  approximately 
looo  to  100  B.C.  The  New  Testament  contains  twenty-seven  books, 
all  written  probably  in  the  first  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  our 
era,  and  presents  the  life  and  sayings  of  Jesus  and  the  history  and 
literature  of  the  early  Christian  Church.  These  sixty-six  books 
form  a  library  produced  by  many  authors  widely  separated  in  time 
and  circumstances  of  life — practically  all,  however,  of  one  race  and 
with  an  underlying  purpose  in  their  writings  that  gives  the  entire 
work  a  marvelous  unity  and  coherence. 

Matters  of  history.  The  traditions  of  the  Hebrew  people  carry 
them  back  to  the  patriarch  Abraham,  who,  reputed  to  have  come 

34 


THE  BIBLE  AS  LITERATURE  35 

from  Mesopotamia,  settled  in  Palestine  at  a  very  early  period.  His 
descendants,  nomads  like  himself,  dwelt  in  that  land  for  some 
generations  until,  driven  by  famine,  they  entered  Eg>-pt  and  there 
remained  for  a  few  centuries,  first  as  welcome  visitors  and  then  as 
slaves.  Under  the  leadership  of  Moses,  a  striking  national  figure, 
they  escaped  from  Egypt  and,  after  many  vicissitudes  in  the  wilder- 
ness, reached  the  borders  of  their  ancestral  home,  Palestine  (the 
"Promised  Land").  Here  Moses  died,  leaving  the  leadership  to 
Joshua,  w'ho  entered  the  land  and  began  the  slow  process  of  winning 
it  over  from  the  more  highly  civilized  peoples  (nearly  all  Semites, 
like  the  Hebrews)  who  dwelt  there. 

From  this  point  forward  we  are  on  more  certain  historic  ground. 
The  close  of  a  rude  period  of  conquest  and  settlement  came  with  the 
establishment  of  a  monarchy.  David,  the  second  king,  is  on  the 
whole  a  fine,  heroic  type  of  man,  notable  for  his  courage,  his  attrac- 
tive personality,  his  abounding  vitality,  and  his  instinct  for  leader- 
ship. The  height  of  his  reign  was  approximately  1000  B.C.  He 
unified  the  kingdom,  subjugated  the  enemies  within  his  borders,  ex- 
tended his  territory  from  the  edge  of  the  desert  at  the  south  to  the 
foothills  of  Mount  Hermon  at  the  north  (one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles),  and  was  a  prominent  factor  in  creating  a  national  spirit  and 
advancing  literature  and  religion.  The  despotism  of  his  successor, 
however,  led  to  the  disruption  of  the  kingdom.  Israel  at  the  north 
and  Judah  at  the  south  presented  thereafter  a  divided  front  to  their 
greedy  neighbors, and  in  the  end  (Israel  722  b.c.  and  Judah  586  b.c.) 
were  taken  into  captivity  by  the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians.  The 
remnant  that  returned  under  the  edict  of  Cyrus  (538  b.c.)  and 
thereafter  were  mainly  people  of  Judah.  By  this  time  members  of 
the  Hebrew  race  had  come  to  be  known  generally  as  Jews,  and  this 
is  their  designation  to  this  day. 

Jerusalem,  the  capital  city,  remained  the  center  of  thought  and 
faith  during  the  closing  centuries  of  the  Old  Testament  period. 
For  six  hundred  years  the  chief  spokesmen  of  the  Jews  were  the 
prophets,  whose  double  function  it  was  to  give  a  message  to  their 
times  and  to  look  forward  to  better  days  and  the  coming  of  a  de- 
liverer.   Palestine  was  ruled  successively  by  Babylonians,  Persians, 


36  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

and  Greeks,  and  for  some  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ  was  part 
of  the  Roman  Empire. 

The  hfe  and  teachings  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  have  profoundly  af- 
fected the  thought  of  the  world.  His  is  the  most  impelling  figure  in 
all  history.  For  thirty  years  he  lived  quietly  in  his  Galilean  home, 
sixty-five  miles  north  of  Jerusalem,  following  the  trade  of  a  car- 
penter, and  then  for  two  and  a  half  years  went  about  from  place 
to  place,  proclaiming  by  precept  and  example  a  new  program  of 
righteousness,  until  his  cruel  execution  as  a  common  malefactor. 
About  forty  years  later  (a.d.  70)  Titus  destroyed  Jerusalem.  There- 
after the  history  of  the  Jews  became  merged  more  and  more  defi- 
nitely with  that  of  other  nations. 

Literature  as  related  to  history.  Palestine  is  a  little  land,  and 
the  Hebrews  were  an  isolated  people,  preserving  the  purity  of  their 
race  and  maintaining  tenaciously  their  peculiar  institutions.  How- 
ever, influences  came  to  them  constantly  from  the  great  world  be- 
yond and  enriched  their  life  and  literature.  To  the  southwest  of 
Palestine  was  Egypt,  sometimes  friendly,  sometimes  hostile,  always 
to  be  reckoned  with  politically  and  culturally.  Nearer  at  hand  was 
Philistia,  where  dwelt  a  non-Semitic  and  highly  artistic  and  civi- 
lized people.  To  the  north  was  Syria,  with  its  capital  Damascus, — a 
constant  factor  in  Hebrew  history  and  on  occasion  a  menace  to  He- 
brew national  existence.  Most  important  of  all  was  Assyria,  the 
great  aggressive  nation  to  the  east,  the  seat  of  a  civilization  ancient 
even  in  Hebrew  times.  The  early  Semitic  traditions  of  the  creation 
and  of  the  Flood  the  Hebrews  possessed  in  common  with  the  Meso- 
potamian  peoples,  and  Babylonian  legislation  became  the  basis  of 
that  of  Moses.  Caravans  from  Assyria  to  Egypt  crossed  Palestine 
from  northeast  to  southwest,  and  other  well-traveled  trade  routes 
brought  a  constant  procession  of  people  of  other  lands.  Spices  and 
treasures  of  the  Far  East  were  also  carried  across  the  desert  from 
the  south.  In  times  of  war,  soldiers  marched  and  countermarched 
on  the  soil  of  Palestine.  The  people  of  Israel  became  involved,  in 
spite  of  themselves,  in  age-long  quarrels.  It  is  not  surprising,  there- 
fore, that  they  were  deeply  affected  by  the  culture,  ideas,  and  for- 
tunes of  their  neighbors. 


THE  BIBLE  AS  LITERATURE  37 

The  primitive  age  of  Hebrew  literature  covers  roughly  the  five 
hundred  years  before  David.  It  was  a  period  of  oral  traditions, 
during  which  ideas  were  being  formulated  regarding  the  origin  of 
the  universe  and  the  beginnings  of  human  history,  and  traditions 
were  being  collected  of  the  Hebrew  people,  their  experiences  in 
Egypt,  and  their  exploits  in  the  conquest  of  the  land.  On  the  legal 
side  a  great  body  of  precepts,  laws,  tribal  usage,  and  Semitic  legis- 
lation was  taking  shape.  Poetry  was  represented  by  the  epics  of  the 
creation  and  the  Flood,  taken  over  from  other  Semitic  sources  but 
purified  of  their  baser  elements  in  a  wonderful  way ;  also  by  such 
fragments  of  popular  song  as  the  Song  of  the  Well, 

"Spring  up,  O  well,  sing  ye  unto  it,"^ 

and  by  war  songs,  such  as  the  magnificent,  even  if  brutally  barbaric, 
Song  of  Deborah  in  Judges  v,  and  the  Song  of  Moses  in  Exodus  xv 
(for  example,  verses  6-8)  : 

"Thy  right  hand,  0  Lord,  is  become  glorious  in  power : 
Thy  right  hand,  0  Lord,  hath  dashed  in  pieces  the  enemy. 
And  in  the  greatness  of  thine  excellency  thou  hast  overthrown  those 

that  rose  up  against  thee  : 
Thou  sentest  forth  thy  wrath,  which  consumed  them  as  stubble. 
And  with  the  blast  of  thy  nostrils  the  waters  were  gathered  together, 
The  floods  stood  upright  as  an  heap, 
And  the  depths  were  congealed  in  the  heart  of  the  sea." 

Finally,  there  survive  from  this  time  popular  fables  and  riddles  in 
poetic  form,  such  as  the  riddles  of  Samson  (Judges  xiv  and  xv) 
and  Jotham's  fable  (Judges  ix). 

The  next  period  (1050-750  B.C.)  has  been  termed  "the  creative 
age  of  poetic  composition  and  prophetic  narration."  The  main  body 
of  the  historical-prophetic  material  from  Genesis  to  2  Kings  be- 
longs to  this  period,  including  such  hero  and  primitive  stories  as 
seem  to  be  quoted  from  early  writings  now  lost.  Codes  and  other 
legal  material  in  written  form  date  from  this  time ;  also  poetic  ex- 
tracts such  as  the  popular  proverbs  given  in  i  Samuel  x  and  .xxiv, 
the  blessing  of  Jacob,  and  the  Balaam  oracles. 

1  Numbers  .xxi,  17. 


38 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


Then  came  the  great  age  of  literary  production  in  Palestine  and 
in  the  lands  of  exile  (750-400  b.c),  the  period  of  the  prophets — 
Amos,  Hosea,  Isaiah,  Micah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  the  Second  Isaiah, 
and  others.  The  codes  in  Deuteronomy  and  Ezekiel,  the  memoirs 
of  Nehemiah,  and  a  body  of  priestly  material  belong  to  this  period. 
On  the  poetic  side  we  have  Lamentations  and  many  of  the  Psalms. 


THE  LATER  TEMPLE  AT  JERUSALEM  AS  ENLARGED  AND  BEAUTIFIED 
BY  HEROD 

A  reconstruction  by  Schick 

The  closing  three  centuries  of  the  Old  Testament  period  were  an 
age  of  retrospection  and  imitation.  The  last  of  the  prophets  belong 
to  these  centuries,  the  writers  of  the  apocrj-phal  (or  non-canonical) 
books,  the  collectors  of  the  prophetic  and  priestly  narratives  and  of 
the  psalter,  and  the  writers  of  such  books  as  Esther,  Job,  Proverbs, 
the  Song  of  Songs,  and  Ecclesiastes.  The  Old  Testament  canon 
was  fixed,  and  a  Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  was  made. 

The  order  of  appearance  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament 
need  not  especially  concern  us.  It  was  not  until  the  close  of  the 
second  century  that  a  definite  collection  of  sacred  books  relating  to 
the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus  and  to  the  history  of  the  early 


THE  BIBLE  AS  LITER.\TURE  39 

Church  formed  an  authoritative  canon,  the  New  Testament  as  we 
have  it — writings  of  the  early  apostles  or  followers  of  Jesus,  and  of 
those  who  wrote  under  their  direction  or  inlluence.  First  in  impor- 
tance, though  not  first  in  appearance,  are  four  biographies  of  Jesus, 
the  Gospels.  The  remainder  are  letters  or  epistles  to  the  churches 
or  to  individuals ;  one  book  of  history ;  and  finally  the  book  of 
Revelation,  closing  the  canon,  mystical  in  its  nature,  with  close  re- 
lationship to  several  Old  Testament  writings. 

Collections  and  versions.  The  Jewish  canon  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment consisted  of  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Writings — five 
books  of  the  Law  (the  Pentateuch),  eight  books  of  the  Prophets 
(Joshua,  Judges,  Samuel,  Kings,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  the 
Minor  Prophets),  and  eleven  Writings  (all  the  remaining  books). 
The  Old  Testament  was  written  in  Hebrew,  but  parts  of  Daniel  and 
Ezra  are  in  Aramaic,  or  northern  Semitic,  dialect.  In  the  second 
century  B.C.  seventy  Jewish  scholars  made  in  Alexandria  a  Greek 
version,  the  Septuagint.  The  quotations  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment found  in  the  New  are  generally  taken  from  this  version,  and 
the  New  Testament  writings  were  all  in  the  Greek  language — 
Hellenistic  Greek.  The  Old  Testament  section  of  the  Latin  version 
of  the  Bible. — the  Vulgate, — completed  by  St.  Jerome  in  a.d.  405, 
was  taken  from  the  Septuagint. 

We  are,  however,  naturally  more  interested  in  the  English  ver- 
sions of  the  Bible.  There  have  been  ten  chief  versions,  of  which 
the  most  important  are  Wycliffe's,  Tyndale's,  the  King  James  (or 
the  Authorized),  the  Roman  Catholic,  the  Revised,  and  the  .Ameri- 
can Revised.  The  version  bearing  Wycliffe's  name  was  completed 
(about  1388)  a  few  years  after  his  death  ;  Tyndale's  version  dates 
from  1526  and  later.  The  New  Testament  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
Bible  was  published  at  Reims  in  1582,  "translated  faithfully  into 
English  out  of  the  authentical  Latin,  according  to  the  best  corrected 
copies  of  the  same,  diligently  conferred  with  the  Greek  and  other 
editions  in  various  languages,"  etc.  The  Old  Testament  was  issued 
at  Douai  in  1609-1610.  Thoroughgoing  revisions  of  the  Reims  and 
Douai  Testaments  appeared  in  1 749-1 750  and  again  in  1763- 


40 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


1764,  and  these  are  the  versions  used  at  the  present  day  by  English- 
speaking  Roman  Catholics.^ 

The  Authorized  Version  was  projected  as  early  as  1604  and 
undertaken  by  about  fifty  divines,  at  King  James's  command.  It 
was  issued  in  161 1.  The  beauty  and  dignity  of  its  style  and  the 
felicity  of  its  phrases  must  be  recognized  by  every  reader.  No  other 
version  can  be  compared  with  it,  and,  notwithstanding  its  occasional 
mistakes,  it  has  not  been  superseded  to  any  extent  by  later  versions. 
It  served  in  large  measure  to  fix  our  English  speech,  and  it  is  one  of 
the  chief  glories  of  the  Golden  Age  that  produced  it.  The  title-page 
stated  that  the  text  was  "newly  translated  out  of  the  original 
tongues,  with  the  former  translations  diligently  compared  and  re- 
vised." Parallel  readings  of  the  following  familiar  passage  (Matthew 
vii,  24-27)  will  be  instructive: 


WYCLIFFE,  1389 


"Therfore  eche  man 
that  herith  these  my 
wordis,  and  doth  hem, 
shal  be  maad  liche  to  a 
wijse  man,  that  hath 
bildid  his  hous  vpon  a 
stoon.  And  rayn  came 
doua,  and  flodis  camen, 
and  wyndis  blewen,  and 
rusheden  in  to  that  hous; 
and  it  felle  nat  doun, 
for  it  was  foundid  on  a 
stoon.  And  euery  man 
that  herith  these  my 
wordis,  and  doth  hem 
nat,  is  liche  to  a  man 
fool,  that  hath  bildid  his 
hous  on  grauel.  And  rayn 
came  doun,  and  floodis 
camen,  and  wyndis  blewen, 
and  thei  hurliden  in  to 
that  hous;  and  it  felle 
doun,  and  the  fallyng 
doun  therof  was  grete." 


TYNDALE,  1526 


"Whosoever  hearethe 
off  me  these  saynges,  and 
doethe  the  same,  I  wyll 
liken  hyme  vnto  a  wyse- 
man,  which  by  lit  his  housse 
on  a  rocke :  and  aboun- 
dance  off  rayne  descend- 
ed, and  the  fluddes  cam, 
and  the  wynddes  blewe, 
and  bett  vppon  that  same 
housse;  and  it  was  not 
overthrowen,  because  it 
was  grounded  on  the  rocke. 
And  whosoever  heareth  of 
me  thesesainges.and  doth 
not  the  same,  shalbe  ly- 
kened  vnto  a  folysh  man, 
which  bilt  his  housse  apon 
the  sonde.  And  abun- 
daunceof raynedescended, 
and  the  fluddes  cam,  and 
the  wynddes  blewe,  and 
beet  vppon  that  housse; 
and  it  was  overthrowen, 
and  great  was  the  fall  off 
it." 


KING  JAMES,    1611 

{Original  spelling) 

"Therefore,  whosoeuer 
heareth  these  sayings  of 
mine,  and  doeth  them,  I 
wil  liken  him  vnto  a  wise 
man,  which  built  his 
house  vpon  a  rocke:  and 
the  raine  descended,  and 
the  floods  came,  and  the 
windes  blew,  and  beat 
vpon  that  house:  and  it 
fell  not,  for  it  was  founded 
vpon  a  rocke.  And  euery 
one  that  heareth  these 
sayings  of  mine,  and  do- 
eth them  not,  shall  bee 
likened  vnto  a  foolish 
man,  which  built  his 
house  vpon  the  sand : 
And  the  raine  descended, 
and  the  floods  came,  and 
the  windes  blew,  and  beat 
vpon  that  house,  and  it 
fell,  and  great  was  the 
fall  of  it." 


^By  way  of  comparison  with  the  Authorized  Version  the  Twenty-third 
Psalm  as  given  in  the  Douai  Bible  (revised)  will  be  of  interest: 

"The  Lord  ruleth  me:  and  I  shall  want  nothing.  He  hath  set  me  in  a  place 
of  pasture.  He  hath  brought  me  up.  on  the  water  of  refreshment :  he  hath  con- 
verted my  soul.    He  hath  led  me  on  the  paths  of  justice,  for  his  own  name's  sake. 


THE  BIBLE  AS  LITERATURE  41 

Of  the  Authorized  Version,  Father  Faber  has  remarked :  "It  lives 
on  the  ear  like  a  music  that  can  never  be  forgotteru  ...  It  is 
part  of  the  national  mind  and  the  anchor  of  national  seriousness. 
The  power  of  all  the  griefs  and  trials  of  man  is  hidden  beneath 
its  words." 

Old-Testament  Poetry 

Hebrew  is  a  primitive  language.  There  is  no  involved  syntax,  no 
elaboration  in  the  structure  of  the  sentence.  A  simple  "and"  is  a 
frequent  initial  word.  The  vocabulary  is  restricted.  In  the  poetry 
the  effect  is  produced  by  the  natural  rhythms,  which,  as  Professor 
Rhys  points  out,  "can  be  transferred  without  any  loss  into  equiva- 
lent idioms,  and  its  'parallelism'  can  be  repeated  with  almost  the 
same  haunting  felicity  and  with  more  than  a  trace  of  its  native 
magic,  in  other  tongues." 

Abundant  examples  show  that  the  Hebrew  mind  was  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  wonders  and  beauties  of  the  created  world.  The 
Biblical  writers  looked  upon  nature  as  an  expression  of  the  power 
and  love  of  God,  and  when  nature  thoughts  find  expression,  the 
characteristic,  indeed,  the  exclusive,  note  is  religious. 

"He  made  darkness  pavilions  round  about  him,  dark  waters,  and 
thick  clouds  of  the  skies." — 2  Samuel  ,xxii 

"He  [the  righteous  man]  shall  be  like  a  tree  planted  by  the  rivers 
of  water,  that  bringeth  forth  his  fruit  in  his  season ;  his  leaf  also  shall 
not  wither ;  and  whatsoever  he  doeth  shall  prosper." — Psalms  i 

"The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God;  and  the  firmament  sheweth 
his  handywork." — Psalms  xix 

'Tie  [the  Lord]  maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures :  he  leadeth 

me  beside  the  still  waters." — Psalms  xxiii 

"As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  water  brooks,  so  panteth  my  soul 
after  thee,  0  God." — Psalms  xlii 

For  though  I  should  walk  in  the  midst  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evils, 
for  thou  art  with  me.  Thy  rod  and  thy  staff,  they  have  comforted  me.  Thou  hast 
prepared  a  table  before  me.  against  them  that  afflict  me.  Thou  hast  anointed  my 
head  with  oil ;  and  thy  chalice  which  inebriateth  me.  how  goodly  is  it !  And  thy 
mercy  will  follow  me  all  the  days  of  my  life.  .\nd  that  1  may  dwell  in  the  house 
of  the  Lord  unto  length  of  days." 


\     ,     j4    BIBLE 

R'^l   fS\jitly  Daiijlated  out  of    J^tS' 

"^"^  e  fii      er  Trji  flj   fin      1  .  m  lu  5  t  I 


■VlX- 


Vr>. 


*  c  f  J     cr  Tra  fli  w  i      i  ^^t 

—  ■^^  Ali    Icsfpcca    Com 

m-rJcm  nt 


1  >,cc  Jv 


TITLE-PAGE   OF   FIRST   EDITION    OF    KING   JAIMES   BIBLE 


THE  BIBLE  AS  LITERATURE  43 

"Thou  visitest  the  earth,  and  waterest  it :  thou  greatly  enrichest  it 
with  the  river  of  God,  which  is  full  of  water :  thou  preparest  them 
corn,  when  thou  hast  so  provided  for  it. 

"Thou  waterest  the  ridges  thereof  abundantly:  thou  settlest  the 
furrows  thereof:  thou  makest  it  soft  with  showers:  thou  blessest  the 
springing  thereof. 

"Thou  crownest  the  year  with  thy  goodness;  and  thy  paths  drop 
fatness. 

"They  drop  upon  the  pastures  of  the  wilderness:  and  the  little  hills 
rejoice  on  every  side. 

"The  pastures  are  clothed  with  flocks:  the  valleys  also  are  covered 
over  with  corn;  they  shout  with  joy,  they  also  sing.''^  —  Psalms  Ixv 

"The  sparrow  hath  found  an  house,  and  the  swallow  a  nest  for  her- 
self, where  she  may  lay  her  young,  even  thine  altars,  0  Lord  of  hosts, 
my  King,  and  my  God." — Psalms  Ixxxiv 

"As  for  man,  his  days  are  as  grass :  as  a  flower  of  the  field,  so  he 
flourisheth. 

"For  the  wind  passeth  over  it,  and  it  is  gone  :  and  the  place  thereof 
shall  know  it  no  more." — Psalms  ciii 

"Thou  art  clothed  with  honor  and  majesty.  Who  coverest  thyself 
with  light  as  with  a  garment :  who  stretchest  out  the  heavens  like  a 
curtain, 

"Who  layeth  the  beams  of  his  chambers  in  the  waters  :  who  maketh 
the  clouds  his  chariot :  who  walketh  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind  : 

"Who  maketh  his  angels  spirits:  his  ministers  a  flaming  fire: 

"Who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  that  it  should  not  be  removed 
for  ever. 

"Thou  coveredst  it  with  the  deep  as  with  a  garment :  the  waters  stood 
above  the  mountains. 

"At  thy  rebuke  they  fled;  at  the  voice  of  thy  thunder  they  hasted 
away.  .  .  . 

"He  sendeth  the  springs  into  the  valleys,  which  run  among  the  hills. 

"They  give  drink  to  every  beast  of  the  field  :  the  wild  asses  quench 
their  thirst. 

"By  them  shall  the  fowls  of  the  heaven  have  their  habitation,  which 
sing  among  the  branches." — Psalms  civ 

iCf.  "The  mountains  and  the  hili.'^  shall  bn-ak  forth  before  you  into  sing- 
ing, and  all  the  trees  of  the  field  shall  clap  their  hands." — Isaiah  Iv 


44  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"They  that  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  that  do  business  in  great 
waters ; 

"These  see  the  works  of  the  Lord,  and  his  wonders  in  the  deep. 

"For  he  commandeth,  and  raiseth  the  stormy  wind,  which  hfteth  up 
the  waves  thereof. 

"They  mount  up  to  the  heaven,  they  go  down  again  to  the  depths : 
their  soul  is  melted  because  of  trouble. 

"They  reel  to  and  fro,  and  stagger  like  a  drunken  man,  and  are  at 
their  wit's  end. 

"Then  they  cry  unto  the  Lord  in  their  trouble,  and  he  bringeth  them 
out  of  their  distresses. 

"He  maketh  the  storm  a  calm,  so  that  the  waves  thereof  are  still. 

"Then  are  they  glad  because  they  be  quiet;  so  he  bringeth  them  unto 
their  desired  haven." — Psalms  cvii 

"He  [God]  is  wise  in  heart,  and  mighty  in  strength:  who  hath  hard- 
ened himself  against  him,  and  hath  prospered? 

"Which  removeth  the  mountains,  and  they  know  not:  which  over- 
turneth  them  in  his  anger. 

"Which  shaketh  the  earth  out  of  her  place,  and  the  pillars  thereof 
tremble. 

"Which  commandeth  the  sun,  and  it  riseth  not;  and  sealeth  up  the 
stars. 

"Which  alone  spreadeth  out  the  heavens,  and  treadeth  upon  the 
waves  of  the  sea. 

"Which  maketh  Arcturus,  Orion,  and  Pleiades,  and  the  chambers  of 
the  south. 

"Which  doeth  great  things  past  finding  out ;  yea,  and  wonders  without 
number. 

"Lo,  he  goeth  by  me,  and  I  see  him  not :  he  passeth  on  also,  but  I 
perceive  him  not." — Job  ix 

Of  such  poetry  as  this — simple,  searching,  eloquent — who  shall 
speak  ?  Note  that,  apart  from  the  rhythm  and  the  sublimity  of  the 
ideas,  the  effect  is  produced  by  a  parallelism  of  structure,  a  balanc- 
ing of  one  line  or  phrase  with  another : 

(i)  "Saul  and  Jonathan  were  lovely  and  pleasant  in  their  lives, 
(2)  and  in  their  death  they  were  not  divided." 

(i)  "They  were  swifter  than  eagles;  (2)  they  were  stronger  than 
hons." 


THE  BIBLE  AS  LITERATURE  45 

(i)  "The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fulness  thereof;  (2)  the  world, 
and  they  that  dwell  therein." 

(i)  "The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my  salvation;  whom  shall  I  fear? 
(2)  the  Lord  is  the  strength  of  my  life;  of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid?" 

Sometimes  the  phrases  are  in  antithesis : 

(i)  "Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  (2)  they  shall  be  as  white  as 
snow; 

(i)  "Though  they  be  red  like  crimson,  (2)  they  shall  be  as  wool." 

Sometimes  the  first  portion  is  incomplete  and  the  second  is  both 
repetition  and  completion : 

(i)  "Give  unto  the  Lord,  0  ye  sons  of  the  mighty,  (2)  give  unto  the 
Lord  glory  and  strength." 

Sometimes  the  parallelism  consists  in  the  putting  and  answering  of 
a  question : 

(i)  "Who  shall  ascend  into  the  hill  of  the  Lord?  or  who  shall  stand 
in  his  holy  place? 

(2)  "He  that  hath  clean  hands,  and  a  pure  heart ;  who  hath  not  Ufted 
up  his  soul  unto  vanity,  nor  sworn  deceitfully." 

In  a  passage  such  as  Psalm  cxix  the  arrangement  is  artificial 
and  less  poetic :  every  verse  contains  a  synonym  of  the  word  "law," 
and  the  entire  poem  is  in  the  form  of  an  acrostic  of  the  Hebrew 
alphabet,  each  stanza  containing  eight  couplets  commencing  with  a 
single  letter.  Another  poem  equally  conscious  of  form  but  far 
more  beautiful  in  content  is  the  book  of  Lamentations,  a  dirge 
acrostic  the  scheme  of  which  is  very  elaborate  and  interesting  (see 
Driver's  ''Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament" 
and  Moulton's  "Modern  Reader's  Bible"). 

Lyric  poems  of  great  beauty  crowd  upon  us  as  we  turn  the  leaves 
of  the  Hebrew  poetic  books.  They  express  many  human  emotions, 
with,  -however,  a  notable  absence  of  humor  and  other  lightsome 
qualities.    Sadness  and  longing: 

"By  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  there  we  sat  down,  yea.  we  wept,  when 
we  remembered  Zion. 

"We  hanged  our  harps  upon  the  willows  in  the  midst  thereof. 


46  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"For  there  they  that  carried  us  away  captive  required  of  us  a  song; 
and  they  that  wasted  us  required  of  us  mirth,  saying, 

"Sing  us  one  of  the  songs  of  Zion. 

"How  shall  we  sing  the  Lord's  song  in  a  strange  land?" — Psalms 
cxxxvii 


*  «:    -C  — 


HEBREW  MANUSCRIPT   (DEUTERONOMY  IX,  5   END) 

"How  doth  the  city  sit  solitary,  that  was  full  of  people !  how  is  she 
become  as  a  widow !  she  that  was  great  among  the  nations,  and  princess 
among  the  provinces,  how  is  she  become  tributary  !  " — Lamentations  i 

Praise :  • 

"Serve  the  Lord  with  gladness  ;  come  before  his  presence  with  singing. 
"Know  ye  that  the  Lord  he  is  God :  it  is  he  that  hath  made  us,  and 
not  we  ourselves ;  we  are  his  people,  and  the  sheep  of  his  pasture." 

Psalms  c 


THE  BIBLE  AS  LITERATURE  47 

Awe  and  adoration : 

"Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  spirit?  or  whither  shall  I  flee  from 
thy  presence  ? 

"If  I  ascend  up  into  heaven,  thou  art  there:  if  I  make  my  bed  in 
hell,  behold,  thou  art  there. 

"If  I  take  the  wings  of  the  morning,  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  sea ; 

"Even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead  me,  and  thy  right  hand  shall  hold  me. 

"If  I  say,  Surely  the  darkness  shall  cover  me ;  even  the  night  shall  be 
light  about  me. 

"Yea,  the  darkness  hideth  not  from  thee;  but  the  night  shineth  as  the 
day :  the  darkness  and  the  light  are  both  alike  to  thee. — Psalms  cxxxix 

Contrition : 

"Have  mercy  upon  me,  0  God,  according  to  thy  lovingkindness : 
according  unto  the  multitude  of  thy  tender  mercies  blot  out  my  trans- 
gressions. 

"Wash  me  thoroughly  from  mine  iniquity,  and  cleanse  me  from 
my  sin. 

"For  I  acknowledge  my  transgressions;  and  my  sin  is  ever  before 
me." — Psalms  li 

Trust : 

"He  that  dwelleth  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High  shall  abide 
under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty. 

"I  will  say  of  the  Lord,  He  is  my  refuge  and  my  fortress :  my  God; 
in  him  will  I  trust." — Psalms  xci 

Love: 

"For  as  the  heaven  is  high  above  the  earth,  so  great  is  his  mercy 
toward  them  that  fear  him. 

"As  far  as  the  east  is  from  the  west,  so  far  hath  he  removed  our 
transgressions  from  us. 

"Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord  piticth  them  that 
fear  him. 

"For  he  knoweth  our  frame;  he  remcmbercth  that  we  are  dust." 

Psalms  ciii 

There  is  an  excjuisite  love  poem  in  the  Bible  that  has  fortunately 
been  preserved  to  us — The  Song  of  Songs — which  seems  foreign  to 


48  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

the  general  purpose  and  unity  of  the  Old  Testament.  It  consists  of 
a  cycle  of  songs  celebrating  a  marriage.  Here,  as  in  other  cases,  a 
comparison  with  similar  oriental  literature  shows  the  essential 
nobility  and  purity  of  the  Hebrew  conceptions. 

"  My  beloved  spake,  and  said  unto  me,  Rise  up  my  love,  my  fair  one, 
and  come  away. 

"For,  lo,  the  winter  is  past,  the  rain  is  over  and  gone; 

"The  flowers  appear  on  the  earth ;  the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds  is 
come,  and  the  voice  of  the  turtle  is  heard  in  the  land ; 

"The  fig  tree  putteth  forth  her  green  figs,  and  the  vines  with  the  ten- 
der grape  give  a  good  smell.  Arise,  my  love,  my  fair  one,  and  come 
away.  .  .  . 

"My  beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  his  :  he  feedeth  among  the  hlies. 

"Until  the  day  break,  and  the  shadows  flee  away,  turn,  my  beloved, 
and  be  thou  like  a  roe  or  a  young  hart  upon  the  mountains  of  Bether." 

The  Song  of  Solomon  ii,  10-17 

Many  other  passages  in  this  poem  have  equal  beauty. 

Out  of  the  later,  thoughtful,  chastened,  philosophic  Old  Testa- 
ment period  comes  the  Book  of  Job.  "A  noble  Book,"  says  Carlyle ; 
"all  men's  Book!  It  is  our  first,  oldest  statement  of  the  never- 
ending  Problem, — man's  destiny,  and  God's  ways  with  him  here  in- 
this  earth.  And  all  in  such  free  flowing  outlines ;  grand  in  its  sin- 
cerity, in  its  simplicity ;  in  its  epic  melody,  and  repose  of  reconcile- 
ment." It  is  a  great  world  poem,  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
poems  in  all  literature.  In  the  sense  that  it  presents  a  single  theme, 
a  great  theme,  and  a  complete  theme,  it  is  an  epic.  The  contro- 
versies between  Job  and  his  three  friends  suggest  the  analogy  of  the 
Platonic  dialogue.  A  parallel  may  also  be  drawn  with  .^schylus's 
tragedy  "Prometheus  Bound."  Professor  Genung  points  this  out 
and  traces  the  struggle  of  Job  upward  to  truth  and  light  by  means 
of  "five  acts  or  stages  with  their  points  of  objective." 

"Act  I.  To  Job's  blessing  and  curse,  i-iii.  (The  stroke  devised  and 
executed  ;  the  silent  friends  ;  Job's  access  of  bewilderment.) 

"Act  II.  To  Job's  ultimatum  of  doubt,  iv-x.  (Wisdom  misfit  and  in- 
sipid ;  the  world-order  a  hardness  and  chaos ;  Job's  plea  for  mutuahty 
and  mediation.) 


THE  BIBLE  AS  LITERATURE  49 

"Act  III.  To  Job's  ultimatum  of  faith,  xi-xix.  (The  friends'  false 
attitude ;  Job's  life  resolve  of  integrity ;  conviction  that  his  Redeemer 
— next  of  kin — liveth.) 

"Act  IV.  To  Job's  verdict  on  things  as  they  are,  xx-xxxi.  (No  out- 
ward terms  of  profit  and  loss ;  yet  wisdom  still  supreme ;  Job's  Hfe 
record  ready  for  presentation.) 

"Act  V.  To  the  vindicating  denouement,  xxxii-xlii.  (The  self- 
constituted  umpire  fails ;  the  whirlwind  words  display  wisdom  and 
power  of  creation;  Job  emerges  to  vindication  and  mediation.) "^ 

From  Job's  opening  words,  spoken  in  the  access  of  his  grief, 

"Let  the  day  perish  wherein  I  was  born,  and  the  night  in  which  it 
was  said,  There  is  a  man  child  conceived, 

"Let  that  day  be  darkness ;  let  not  God  regard  it  from  above,  neither 
let  the  light  shine  upon  it," 

to  his  final  submission  to  God, 

"[I  have]  uttered  that  I  understood  not ;  things  too  wonderful  for  me, 
which  I  knew  not," 

the  book  touches  the  heights  and  depths  of  life  and  the  very  inner- 
most of  human  problems. 

Our  study  of  Old  Testament  poetry  must  close,  but  much  has  per- 
force been  passed  by — such  as  the  fine  Hebrew  elegies  or  laments 
to  be  found  in  Lamentations,  in  Ezekiel  xix,  xxvii,  and  xxxii,  and  in 
Isaiah  xiv ;  striking  passages  from  the  philosophic  poetry  of  Prov- 
erbs ;  and  the  sadly  beautiful  pictures  of  Ecclesiastes,  particularly 
the  description  of  old  age  given  in  chapter  xii. 

Old-Testament  Narratives 

As  we  turn  to  the  simple,  noble,  and  searching  prose  narratives  in 
the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  our  minds  revert  not  only  to  the 
days  when  these  stories  first  held  us  enthralled  but  to  those  far- 
distant  days  when  by  fireside  or  in  market  place  or  in  Tent  of 
Meeting  or  on  hilltop  in  Palestine  these  tales  were  told  and  retold 
to  those  ancient  peoples,  listening  thoughtfully  and  reverently  to 
the  traditional  account  of  the  beginning  of  days  and  of  the  check- 

iprom  Gcnung's  "Guidebook  to  the  Biblical  Literature." 


50  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

ered  experiences  of  the  fathers  of  their  race.    Do  they  seem  remote 
to  us  ?    Are  we  not  moved  even  as  they  ? 

"In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth.  And  the 
earth  was  without  form  and  void ;  and  darkness  was  upon  the  face 
of  the  deep.    And  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters." 

"And  the  Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  Hfe ;  and  man  became  a  Hving 
soul." 

"Now  the  Lord  had  said  unto  Abram,  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country, 
and  from  thy  kindred  and  from  thy  father's  house  unto  a  land  that  I 
will  shew  thee :  and  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and  I  will  bless 
thee,  and  make  thy  name  great :  and  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing." 

"And  Isaac  spake  unto  Abraham  his  father  and  said,  My  father :  and 
he  said,  Here  am  I,  my  son.  And  he  said,  Behold  the  fire  and  the  wood  : 
but  where  is  the  lamb  for  a  burnt  offering  ?  And  Abraham  said,  My 
son,  God  will  provide  himself  a  lamb  for  a  burnt  offering." 

"And  he  [Jacob]  lighted  upon  a  certain  place,  and  tarried  there  all 
night,  because  the  sun  was  set :  and  he  took  of  the  stones  of  that  place, 
and  put  them  for  his  pillows,  and  lay  down  in  that  place  to  sleep.  And 
he  dreamed,  and  behold  a  ladder  set  up  on  the  earth,  and  the  top  of  it 
reached  to  heaven :  and  behold  the  angels  of  God  ascending  and  de- 
scending on  it." 

"God  called  unto  him  [Moses]  out  of  the  midst  of  the  bush,  and  said, 
Moses,  Moses.  And  he  said,  Here  am  I.  And  he  said,  Draw  not  nigh 
hither :  put  off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet,  for  the  place  whereon  thou 
standest  is  holy  ground." 

"So  Gideon,  and  the  hundred  men  that  were  with  him,  came  unto 
the  outside  of  the  camp  in  the  beginning  of  the  middle  watch;  and  they 
had  but  newly  set  the  watch  :  and  they  blew  the  trumpets,  and  brake  the 
pitchers  that  were  in  their  hands.  .  .  .  And  they  cried,  The  sword  of 
the  Lord,  and  of  Gideon." 

"And  Ruth  said  [to  Naomi],  Intreat  me  not  to  leave  thee,  or  to  re- 
turn from  following  after  thee :  for  whither  thou  goest,  I  will  go :  and 
where  thou  lodgest,  I  will  lodge  :  thy  people  shall  be  my  people,  and  thy 
God  my  God :  where  thou  diest,  will  I  die,  and  there  will  I  be  buried : 
the  Lord  do  so  to  me  and  more  also  if  ought  but  death  part  thee  and  me." 


THE  BIBLE  AS  LITERATURE  51 

"And  David  sat  between  the  two  gates  :  and  the  watchman  went  up 
to  the  roof  over  the  gate  unto  the  wall,  and  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and 
looked,  and  behold  a  man  running  alone.  .  .  .  And  he  came  apace,  and 
drew  near.  .  .  .  And  the  king  said  unto  Cushi,  Is  the  young  man  Ab- 
salom safe?  And  Cushi  answered,  The  enemies  of  my  lord  the  king, 
and  all  that  rise  against  thee  to  do  thee  hurt,  be  as  that  young  man  is. 
And  the  king  was  much  moved,  and  went  up  to  the  chamber  over  the 
gate,  and  wept :  and  as  he  went,  thus  he  said,  O  my  son  Absalom,  my 
son,  my  son  Absalom !  would  God  I  had  died  for  thee,  O  Absalom,  my 
son,  my  son  !  " 

"And  it  came  to  pass  at  the  time  of  the  offering  of  the  evening 
sacrifice,  that  Elijah  the  prophet  came  near,  and  said.  Lord  God  of 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  of  Israel,  let  it  be  known  this  day  that  thou  art 
God  in  Israel,  and  that  I  am  thy  ser\'ant,  and  that  I  have  done  all  these 
things  at  thy  word.  .  .  .  Then  the  fire  of  the  Lord  fell,  and  consumed 
the  burnt  sacrifice,  and  the  wood,  and  the  stones,  and  the  dust,  and 
licked  up  the  water  that  was  in  the  trench.  And  when  all  the  people 
saw  it,  they  fell  on  their  faces  :  and  they  said,  The  Lord,  he  is  the 
God ;  the  Lord,  he  is  the  God." 

Splendid  examples  of  sustained  narrative  are  to  be  found  in  all 
the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  throughout  the  books  of 
Ruth  and  Esther,  and  in  the  earlier  chapters  of  Daniel,  They 
constitute  real  literature,  and  of  a  noble  type. 

The  Prophets 

An  acquaintance  with  the  Hebrew  prophets — their  hatred  of  op- 
pression, their  love  of  holiness  and  justice,  their  enduring  hope  and 
faith — enriches  us.  How  magnificent  a  thing  to  stand  by  the  side 
of  Amos  the  herdsman  of  Tekoa  as  he  preached  in  the  streets  of 
Bethel : 

"For  three  transgressions  of  Israel,  and  for  four,  I  will  not  turn  away 
the  punishment  thereof ;  because  they  sold  the  righteous  for  silver,  and 
the  poor  for  a  pair  of  shoes.  .  .  .  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  O  Israel. 
For,  lo,  he  that  formeth  the  mountains,  and  createth  the  wind,  and  de- 
clareth  unto  man  what  is  his  thought,  that  maketh  the  morning  dark- 
ness, and  treadeth  upon  the  high  places  of  the  earth,  The  Lord,  The 
God  of  hosts,  is  his  name." 


52 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


How  overpowering  the  message  of  love  and  forbearance  and  pa- 
tience that  came  out  of  the  pathetic  domestic  experience  of  Hosea  1 
How  ennobling  the  pronouncement  of  Micah : 

"Will  the  Lord  be  pleased  with  thousands  of  rams,  or  with  ten  thou- 
sands of  rivers  of  oil?  shall  I  give  my  firstborn  for  my  transgression, 
the  fruit  of  my  body  for  the  sin  of  my  soul?  He  hath  shewed  thee, 
O  man,  what  is  good;  and  what  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to 
do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God?" 


FROM  THE  FRIEZE   OF  PROPHETS   BY   S.^RGENT 

Most  of  all,  how  exalted  the  outlook  of  the  great  prophets  of 
Israel !  The  troubles  that  they  suffered  were  as  nothing  in  the  light 
of  the  glories  of  the  latter  day.  ''The  work  of  righteousness,"  said 
Isaiah,  "shall  be  peace;  and  the  effect  of  righteousness  quietness 
and  assurance  forever.  And  my  people  shall  dwell  in  a  peaceable 
habitation,  and  in  sure  dwellings,  and  in  quiet  resting  places."  And 
again:  "Break  forth  into  joy,  sing  together,  3-e  waste  places  of 
Jerusalem:  for  the  Lord  hath  comforted  his  people,  he  hath  re- 
deemed Jerusalem."   Ezekiel,  in  the  land  of  exile,  prophesied: 


THE  BIBLE  AS  LITERATURE 


S3 


"For  I  will  take  you  out  of  all  countries,  and  will  bring  you  into 
your  own  land.  .  .  .  And  ye  shall  dwell  in  the  land  that  I  gave  to 
your  fathers ;  and  ye  shall  be  my  people,  and  I  will  be  your  God." 
And  that  other,  greater  prophet  of  the  Exile  cried : 

"Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people,  saith  your  God.  Speak  ye  com- 
fortably to  Jerusalem,  and  cry  unto  her,  that  her  warfare  is  accom- 
plished, that  her  iniquity  is  pardoned :  for  she  hath  received  of  the 
Lord's  hand  double  for  all  her  sins.    The  voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the 


FROM   THE   FRIEZE   OF  PROPHETS   BY  SARGENT 


wilderness.  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert 
a  highway  for  our  God.  Every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  and  every  moun- 
tain shall  be  made  low :  and  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight,  and  the 
rough  places  plain  :  And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and  all 
flesh  shall  see  it  together :  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it." 

The  haunting  beauty  of  such  passages  can  scarcely  be  surpassed. 

The  later  thought  of  the  prophets  centered  in  the  person  of  a  de- 
liverer. "The  spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  him,"  said  Isaiah, 
"the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  the  spirit  of  counsel  and 


54  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

might,  the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord  ;  and  shall 
make  him  of  quick  understanding  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord :  and  he 
shall  not  judge  after  the  sight  of  his  eyes,  neither  reprove  after  the 
hearing  of  his  ears  .  .  .  and  righteousness  shall  be  the  girdle  of  his 
loins,  and  faithfulness  the  girdle  of  his  reins."  Our  view  of  the  Old 
Testament  may  fitly  terminate  with  this  picture,  from  the  Second 
Isaiah,  of  the  Suffering  Servant  who  was  to  atone  for  the  sins  of  the 
people : 

"Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our  sorrows:  yet  we 
did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God,  and  afflicted. 

"But  he  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our 
iniquities :  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him ;  and  with  his 
stripes  we  are  healed. 

"All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray;  we  have  turned  every  one  to 
his  own  way;  and  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all." 

Isaiah  liii 

The  New  Testament 

There  is  much  in  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  that  carries  on, 
or  fulfills,  the  thought  of  the  Old.  The  writers  told  of  the  life  and 
experiences  of  one  who,  as  they  firmly  believed,  was  the  Messiah 
foretold  by  the  prophets.  They  were  inheritors  of  the  past,  and  the 
constant  survival  of  Old  Testament  ideas  in  the  New  gives  the  two 
portions  of  the  Bible  a  unity  that  every  reader  must  appreciate. 

When  we  consider  literature  as  applied  to  the  writings  of  the 
New  Testament,  the  four  Gospels  stand  forth  preeminent.  The 
Epistles,  though  they  contain  the  striking  passages  on  love  and  on 
immortality  in  i  Corinthians,  and  other  chapters  scarcely  less  note- 
worthy (for  example,  Hebrews  xii,  James  iii,  i  John  iii),  are  not, 
speaking  generally,  to  be  compared  with  them.  The  imagery  of  the 
book  of  Revelation  is  sometimes  very  beautiful,  as  in  the  closing 
chapters : 

"And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth :  for  the  first  heaven  and 
the  first  earth  were  passed  away;  and  there  was  no  more  sea.  And  I 
John  saw  the  holy  city,  new  Jerusalem,  coming  down  from  God  out  of 
heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband.  And  I  heard  a 
great  voice  out  of  heaven  saying,  Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with 


THE  BIBLE  AS  LITERATURE  55 

men,  and  he  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God 
himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God.  And  God  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  their  eyes ;  and  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  nei- 
ther sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain :  for  the 
former  things  are  passed  away." 

"And  he  shewed  me  a  pure  river  of  water  of  hfe,  clear  as  cr>'stal. 
proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.  In  the  midst  of 
the  street  of  it,  and  on  either  side  of  the  river,  was  there  the  tree  of  hfe, 
which  bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  and  yielded  her  fruit  ever>'  month : 
and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing  of  the  nations." 

But  let  us  turn  our  particular  attention  to  the  Gospels,  as  the  finest 
examples  of  New  Testament  literature. 

Note  the  unmatched  felicity  of  expression  in  such  passages  as  the 
following,  taken  almost  at  random : 

"And  there  were  in  the  same  country  shepherds  abiding  in  the  field, 
keeping  watch  over  their  flock  by  night.  And,  lo,  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
came  upon  them,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shone  round  about  them : 
and  they  were  sore  afraid.  And  the  angel  said  unto  them.  Fear  not :  for, 
behold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all 
peoples." 

"Behold  the  fowls  of  the  air :  for  they  sow  not.  neither  do  they  reap, 
nor  gather  into  barns ;  yet  your  heavenly  Father  feedeth  them.  .  .  . 
Consider  the  hhes  of  the  field,  how  they  grow ;  they  toil  not,  neither 
do  they  spin :  And  yet  I  say  unto  you.  That  even  Solomon  in  all  his 
glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these." 

"Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will 
give  you  rest.  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me ;  for  I  am 
meek  and  lowly  in  heart :  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls.  For 
my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is  light." 

"Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled  :  ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in 
me.  In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions  :  if  it  were  not  so,  I 
would  have  told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  And  if  I  go  and 
prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again,  and  receive  you  unto  my- 
self ;  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also." 

"Jesus  saith  to  Simon  Peter,  Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovcst  thou  me 
more  than  these?    He  saith  unto  him,  Yea,  Lord ;  thou  knowest  that  I 


56 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


love  thee.  He  saith  unto  him,  Feed  my  lambs.  He  saith  to  him 
again  the  second  time,  Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me  ?  He  saith 
unto  him,  Yea,  Lord ;  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee.  He  saith  unto 
him,  Feed  my  sheep.  He  saith  unto  him  the  third  time,  Simon,  son  of 
Jonas,  lovest  thou  me?  Peter  was  grieved  because  he  said  unto  him 
the  third  time,  Lovest  thou  me?  And  he  said  unto  him.  Lord,  thou 
knowest  all  things ;  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee.    Jesus  saith  unto 


CHRIST  AND  THE  YOUNG  RULER 
From  the  painting  by  Hofmann 


him,  Feed  my  sheep.  Verily,  verily  I  say  unto  thee,  when  thou  wast 
young,  thou  girdedst  thyself,  and  walkedst  whither  thou  wouldest ;  but 
when  thou  shalt  be  old,  thou  shalt  stretch  forth  thy  hands,  and  another 
shall  gird  thee,  and  carry  thee  whither  thou  wouldest  not." 

Every  reader  of  the  Gospels  has  noted  the  unerring  instinct  of 
Jesus  in  dealing  with  all  classes, — rich  and  poor,  wise  and  ignorant, 
young  and  old, — reaching  their  hearts,  solving  their  problems.  He 
speaks,  therefore,  a  universal  language  which  we  can  all  understand. 


THE  BIBLE  AS  LITERATURE  57 

His  use  of  the  parable  was  unsurpassed,  and  when  he  tells  of  the 
sower,  the  prodigal  son,  or  the  good  Samaritan,  everything  is  in 
keeping,  nothing  is  superfluous. 

"I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father,  and  will  say  unto  him,  Father,  I 
have  sinned  against  heaven,  and  before  thee,  and  am  no  more  worthy 
to  be  called  thy  son :  make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants.  And  he 
arose,  and  came  to  his  father.  But  when  he  was  yet  a  great  way  off,  his 
father  saw  him,  and  had  compassion,  and  ran,  and  fell  on  his  neck,  and 
kissed  him." 

The  characteristic  message  of  Jesus  is  one  of  love  and  sympathy. 
As  he  understood  the  heart  of  man,  so  he  reached  more  certainly 
than  any  other  man  who  ever  lived  the  heart  of  the  Infinite  God. 

To  the  man  of  today  one  of  the  most  interesting  things  about 
Jesus  is  that  he  was  essentially  and  radically  democratic.  His  soul 
blazed  with  indignation  at  the  sight  of  oppression  and  wrong.  He 
was  the  true  successor  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets  and  must 
have  noted  with  deep  inward  satisfaction  such  passages  as  "He 
shall  judge  the  poor  of  the  people,  he  shall  save  the  children  of  the 
needy,  and  shall  break  in  pieces  the  oppressor";  "With  righteous- 
ness shall  [God]  judge  the  world,  and  the  people  with  equity"; 
''Woe  unto  them  that  .  .  .  turn  aside  the  needy  from  judgment, 
and  take  away  the  right  from  the  poor  of  my  people."  To  Jesus  all 
men  were  equal  in  the  sight  of  God.  "I  call  you  not  servants,"  he 
said  to  his  disciples,  "for  the  servant  knoweth  not  what  his  lord 
doeth ;  but  I  have  called  you  friends."  Xot  only  did  the  common 
people  of  Jesus'  day  hear  him  gladly  but,  in  their  turn,  the  early 
martyrs,  the  crofters  of  the  Scottish  Highlands,  the  Huguenots  of 
France,  the  peasants  of  Germany,  the  Pilgrims  of  Xew  England, 
took  comfort  and  courage  in  his  words.  The  striving  people  of  all 
ages  have  received  inspiration  from  the  sayings  of  this  greatest  of 
democratic  leaders.^ 

^In  the  foregoing  chapter  no  mention  has  been  made  of  the  extra-Biblical 
literature  of  the  Hebrews.  Of  this  there  is  a  considerable  amount,  and  some 
portions  reach  a  high  level.  We  have  deemed  it  advisable,  however,  to  con- 
fine our  study  to  the  Bible. 


58  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Reference  List 

Read  the  Bible  itself  (Authorized  Version  preferably). 

Genung.    Guidebook  to  the  Biblical  Literature.    Ginn  and  Company. 

Driver.     Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament.     Charles 

Scribner's  Sons. 
Kent.    Various  books  on  Biblical  study.   Send  to  Charles  Scribner's  Sons 

for  list. 
MouLTON.    Literary  Study  of  the  Bible.    The  Macmillan  Company. 
Gardiner.    The  Bible  as  Literature.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
MouLTON.    Modern  Reader's  Bible.    The  Macmillan  Company. 
Rhys   (Ed.).    Lyrical  Poetry  from  the  Bible   (2  vols.).     E.  P.  Button  & 

Company. 

Suggested  Topics 

The  relation  of  Palestine  to  other  lands  in  Bible  times. 

Old  Testament  history. 

New  Testament  history. 

Old  Testament  poetry  compared  with  English  or  American  poetry. 

Narratives  of  the  Old  Testament. 

Great  passages  from  Isaiah. 

Ruth:  a  Biblical  idyl. 

The  book  of  Job. 

Jesus'  use  of  the  parable. 

Ideas  of  Jesus  on  brotherhood  and  democracy. 

Quotations  from  the  Bible  in  current  speech  and  literature. 


CHAPTER  IV 
GREEK  LITERATURE 

It  is  but  a  commonplace  to  say  that  our  debt  to  the  Greeks  is 
incalculable.  Whether  the  Greek  genius  applied  itself  to  architec- 
ture, sculpture,  music,  literature,  government,  logic,  or  speculative 
thought,  the  products  excelled  those  of  any  other  people  of  antiq- 
uity. We  are  separated  from  the  Greeks  by  many  centuries,  but 
every  intelligent  person  of  today  has  a  certain  familiarity  with 
Homer,  Pericles,  Phidias,  Sophocles,  Socrates,  Plato,  and  Aristotle 
— to  mention  no  others  of  those  who  have  contributed  to  the  lus- 
ter of  this  richly  gifted  race.  Our  own  culture  is  based  largely 
on  the  Greek,  or  on  the  Greek  through  the  Latin.  In  the  field  of 
literature  we  have  but  to  name  Milton,  Dryden,  Shelley,  Keats, 
Tennyson,  and  Swinburne  to  recall  the  copious  use  that  our  English 
poets  have  made  of  Greek  conceptions  and  themes ;  and,  indeed, 
what  writer  or  thinker  of  the  modern  world  does  not  hark  back, 
consciously  or  unconsciously,  to  the  Greek?  At  many  points  the 
Greek  literature  seems  extremely  modern.  This  is  not  surprising, 
for  the  Greeks  were  a  highly  civilized  race,  and  in  the  long  history 
of  humanity  they  lived — to  use  Professor  Robinson's  picturesque 
phrase — but  "day  before  yesterday."  We  feel  our  age  closely  akin 
to  theirs  in  artistic  impulse,  keen  power  of  analysis,  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge, splendid  originality,  vigorous  imagination,  and  fondness  for 
beauty. 

Early  history.  The  earliest  memorable  event  which  is  recorded 
in  Greek  literature  was  the  capture  (twelfth  century  b.c.)  of  Troy, 
a  famous  city  on  the  northern  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  A  number  of 
centuries  before  this  (roughly,  2000  b.c.)  a  branch^  of  the  Indo- 
European  race — known  to  us  as  the  Greeks,  to  themselves  as  the 
Hellenes — had  migrated  from  the  region  of  the  Black  Sea,  had 
settled  in  the  Greek  peninsula,  and  had  by  degrees  taken  over 

iThe  vanguard  were  the  .^chaeans;  other  groups  followed  later. 

59 


6o  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

the  relatively  advanced  JEgean  civilization  which  they  had  found. 
Their  predecessors  were  a  white  race  of  a  higher  stage  of  culture 
than  their  own,  and  the  contact  of  the  Greeks  with  them  was  im- 
portant. The  subsequent  mastery  of  the  neighboring  island  of 
Crete  gave  the  Greeks  still  further  artistic  impressions  and  impulses. 
One  additional  step  is  to  be  recorded :  the  capture  of  ^gean  settle- 
ments in  the  islands  of  the  .Egean  Sea  and  on  the  coast  of  Asia 
Minor.  By  looo  B.C.  the  Greek  peoples  had  subdued  the  entire 
yEgean  world. 

We  feel  strangely  drawn  to  these  earliest  Europeans  (using  the 
word  in  the  modern  sense).  They  had  definitely  passed  their  nomad 
period,  though  still  retaining  many  barbaric  traits.  They  had  looked 
upon  the  wonders  of  Mycenae  and  Cnossus  and  had  made  them 
their  own.  They  had  mastered  the  i^gean  Sea  with  their  ''swift 
ships."  They  had  become  acquainted  with  the  civilization  of  Egypt 
to  the  south.  They  had  bartered  with  those  earliest  of  commercial 
travelers,  the  Phoenicians,  and  from  them  had  secured  the  most 
valuable  of  their  products,  the  alphabet.  By  the  close  of  the  period 
of  migration  this  instrument  of  thought  was  recording  the  earliest 
Greek  literature.  Part  of  the  Greek  inheritance  consisted  of  hero 
tales  or  sagas,  folk  stories,  songs,  legends — going  back  to  the  old 
pre-Dorian  Achreans  and  to  the  ^gean  peoples.  The  Greeks  were 
a  mixed  race  and  spoke  many  dialects.  They  stood  at  the  end  of 
an  age.  INIount  Olympus  was  still  the  home  of  their  gods.  They 
had  a  peculiar  fondness  for  such  heroic  stories  as  the  exploits  of 
Perseus,  the  labors  of  Hercules,  the  feats  of  Theseus,  the  quarrels 
of  the  royal  house  of  Thebes,  the  Argonautic  expedition,  the  capture 
of  Troy,  the  return  of  the  heroes.  And  in  their  later  and  more 
sophisticated  days  they  turned  to  such  tales  as  to  a  great  storehouse 
for  literary  material. 

The  Homeric  Epics 

The  earliest  Greek  literature  is  epic  in  form.  Epic  poems  were 
recited  by  bards  and  were  transmitted  from  one  generation  to  the 
next.  Probably  this  type  of  poetry  was  very  common  by  900  b.c. 
The  greatest  of  all  epic  poems,  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey,  drew 


GREEK  LITERATURE 


6i 


upon  the  subject  matter  of  earlier  poems  and  in  turn  were  suc- 
ceeded by  a  whole  cycle  of  minor  epics  of  varying  value.  The  Greeks 
thought  of  the  epic  as  poetry  that  was  recited,  not  sung  to  music 
(as  in  the  case  of  the  lyric),  and  as  narrative,  not  acted,  poetry  (as 
distinguished  from  dramatic).  Aristotle's  definition  of  the  epic  is 
more  specific.  He  asserts 
that  it  must  have  a  dignified 
theme,  organic  unity,  and 
orderedprogress.  Theevents 
must  form  a  connected  series 
and  move  to  a  common  end. 
We  think  of  the  epicasbeing 
also  frequently  national  in 
character,  narrating  events 
which  a  people  may  deem 
most  worthy  of  remem- 
brance in  its  history. 

The  Iliad  and  the  Odys- 
sey existed  in  practically 
their  present  form  by  the 
end  of  the  ninth  century 
B.C.  They  seem  to  have  been 
lost  sight  of  for  a  consider- 
able period  and  then  to  have 
reappeared.  Public  recita- 
tions made  Homeric  poetry 
generally  known.   There  is 

in  one  of  the  Platonic  dialogues  a  striking  picture  of  Ion,  the  rhap- 
sodist,  who  went  from  place  to  place  and,  in  embroidered  dress  and 
wreath,  addressed  as  many  as  twenty  thousand  persons  at  a  time. 
He  was  carried  out  of  himself  "in  the  recitation  of  some  striking 
passage,  such  as  the  apparition  of  Odysseus  leaping  forth  on  the 
floor,  recognized  by  the  suitors  and  casting  his  arrows  at  his  feet, 
or  the  description  of  Achilles  rushing  at  Hector,  or  the  sorrows  of 
Andromache,  Hecuba  or  Priam." ^  At  the  tale  of  pity  his  eyes 
1  Translation  by  Jowett. 


HOMER 


62  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

were  filled  with  tears,  and  when  he  spoke  of  horrors  his  hair  stood 
on  end  and  his  heart  throbbed.  From  Plato's  "■  Protagoras"  we  learn 
of  the  large  place  occupied  by  the  writings  of  Homer  in  the  educa- 
tion of  Greek  youth  during  the  great  Attic  period.  The  Greeks 
regarded  him  as  their  earliest  historian  and  as  an  authority.  Herod- 
otus and  the  later  biographers  accepted  early  traditions  of  an  ac- 
tual Homer  (who  had  lived  about  850  B.C.),  the  author  of  both 
Iliad  and  Odyssey.  Modern  literary  criticism  has  been  much  con- 
cerned for  a  century  or  more  with  the  Homeric  question.  Fascinat- 
ing as  the  subject  is,  we  cannot  enter  into  it  in  this  place.  The 
identity  of  Homer  cannot  be  determined.  While  it  is  not  certain 
that  one  poet  produced  both  Iliad  and  Odyssey,  there  has  been  in 
recent  years  a  strong  movement  in  the  direction  of  accepting  a 
single  authorship.^  Scholarship  and  archaeology  seem  to  prove  the 
existence  of  the  Homeric  Troy  and  a  general  Greek  expedition  which 
resulted  in  its  overthrow  after  a  long  siege. 

The  background.  Life  in  the  Homeric  Age  (approximately 
1000  B.C.)  was  in  most  respects  exceedingly  primitive.  Travel  by 
water  was  by  means  of  boats,  covered  only  at  bow  and  stern  and 
propelled  by  oars,  or  by  a  sail  when  the  breeze  was  favorable.  Easy 
stages  were  made  by  daylight  from  island  to  island  until  the  main- 
land was  reached.  The  Homeric  geographical  knowledge  is  limited 
by  the  ^Egean  Sea  and  the  surrounding  lands.  Beyond  is  a  region 
of  rumor  and  terror.  To  the  north  are  nomads,  to  the  south  ''swart 
faces,''  "remotest  of  men."  Odysseus'  journeys  are  in  the  realm  of 
fancy.  Homer  thinks  of  the  world  as  a  round  plane  about  which 
flows  the  river  Oceanus,  and  of  the  sky  as  a  roof  supported  by 
pillars  upheld  by  Atlas. 

The  main  occupations  of  the  people  in  Homeric  times  were  agri- 
culture and  the  raising  of  cattle.  The  chase  was  popular;  fishing 
was  looked  down  upon.  Flesh  was  the  principal  food,  and  wine 
diluted  by  water  was  the  universal  drink.  ISIany  of  the  metals  were 
known,  and  formidable  and  artistic  armor  was  already  fashioned. 
Slaves  did  the  menial  work.  Weaving  was  a  favorite  occupation  of 
the  women.  The  house  of  a  chieftain  was  commodious,  and  free 
iSee  Scott's  "The  Unitv  of  Homer." 


GREEK  LITERATURE  63 

hospitality  was  dispensed.  We  have  a  fine  picture  of  graciousness 
and  good  taste  in  the  account  of  the  house  of  Priam  in  the  IHad  and 
of  ]\Ienelaus  and  Helen  in  the  Odyssey,  while  by  way  of  contrast  a 
view  is  given  of  a  house  in  disorder — Penelope  struggling  with  un- 
toward conditions.  There  seems  to  have  been  free  social  intercourse 
between  the  sexes ;  monogamy  was  universal.  The  picture  presented 
by  Homer  is  perhaps  drawn  too  favorably,  for  we  must  remember 
that  the  epics  were  recited  in  court  circles,  and  disagreeable  in- 
cidents were  largely  excluded.  In  our  own  society  Helen  would  be 
looked  upon  askance,  yet  she  is  taken  back  by  Menelaus  and  re- 
stored to  her  full  position  at  his  court. 

It  was  a  time  of  piracy  and  robbery  on  sea  and  land.  Enemies 
were  treated  brutally  and  dead  bodies  defiled.  The  system  of  gov- 
ernment was  primitive :  the  king  was  little  more  than  a  chieftain, 
whose  power  was  slight  except  in  time  of  war.  Single  combat  seems 
to  have  been  the  rule  on  the  battlefield.  Great  heroes  are  described 
at  length  and  the  common  soldier  is  ignored. 

"But  when  he  heard  one  of  the  lower  sort 
Shouting  and  brawling,  with  the  royal  wand 
He  smote  him,  and  reproved  him  sharply,  thus : 
'Friend,  take  thy  seat  in  quiet,  and  attend 
To  what  thy  betters  say.'"^ 

We  learn  little  from  Homer  of  the  condition  of  the  poor.  \ 

IVIahaffy  makes  an  interesting  comparison  between  the  Homeric  ' 
hero  and  the  medieval  knight.  The  cardinal  principles  of  the  latter 
involve  courage,  truth,  compassion,  and  loyalty.  The  princes  of 
the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey  are  frequently  brave,  with  a  certain  furi- 
ous rage  that  brings  certain  victory,  but  their  courage  is  spasmodic. 
Even  Hector  does  not  disdain  to  flee  before  the  onset  of  Achilles. 
Both  gods  and  men  have  a  low  standard  of  truthfulness :  deceit  is 
frequent,  and  the  wily  Odysseus  is  praised.  Compassion  is  not  in- 
stinctive but  occasional,  the  rights  of  women  are  frequently  ignored, 
and  old  age  is  not  commonly  honored.    In  general,  loyalty  is  at  a 

1  Translation  by  Bryant. 


64  literaturp:  of  the  world 

discount,  and  there  is  a  notable  lack  of  allegiance  to  superior  au- 
thority. Moral  ideas  check  men,  but  gods  are  under  no  restraint, 
as  is  clear  from  Hayman's  description  of  Pallas  Athene:  ''Her 
character  is  without  tenderness  or  tie  of  any  sort :  it  never  owns 
obligation,  it  never  feels  pain  or  privation,  it  is  pitiless ;  with  no 
gross  appetites,  its  activity  is  busy  and  restless,  its  partisanship  un- 
scrupulous, its  policy  astute,  and  its  dissimulation  profound." 

At  death  the  Homeric  hero  is  accorded  elaborate  funeral  rites 
and  his  body  is  cremated.  The  rites  are  important,  since  until  they 
are  performed  his  spirit  cannot  mingle  with  other  spirits  in  Hades. 
On  the  way  to  Hades  is  Erebus,  a  place  of  gloom.  In  the  nether 
world  a  spirit  is  "strengthless,"  although  its  occupation  is  that  of 
the  living  man.  Odysseus  is  able  to  converse  with  the  spirits  by 
giving  them  strength  through  a  draught  of  the  blood  of  a  sheep. 

The  characters  of  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey.  On  the  Greek 
side  there  are  eight  heroes  of  the  first  rank.  Agamemnon,  com- 
mander in  chief  of  the  expedition  against  Troy,  is  king  of  Mycenae. 
His  brother,  Menelaus — the  theft  of  whose  wife,  Helen,  by  Paris, 
son  of  Priam  of  Troy,  is  the  occasion  of  the  expedition — is  petulant, 
a  mighty  warrior,  an  implacable  enemy.  Achilles ;  Ajax  Telamon ; 
Diomed ;  the  aged  Nestor ;  Patroclus,  friend  of  Achilles ;  and  the 
wise  and  crafty  Odysseus  complete  the  circle.  In  the  Iliad  Achilles 
is  the  chief  character,  and  his  "wrath"  the  controlling  element. 
In  the  Odyssey  we  are  concerned  with  Odysseus,  who  is  now 
''the  much-enduring"  and  altogether  a  finer  personality  than  in 
the  earlier  epic. 

Opposed  to  the  Greeks  are  the  no  less  redoubtable  leaders  of  the 
Trojans,  to  whom  Homer  does  full  justice :  Priam,  the  king ;  his 
sons,  Hector,  Paris,  and  Deiphobus;  their  relative  -(Eneas;  and 
Glaucus  and  Sarpedon.  Of  this  number  Hector  is  the  great  heroic 
figure.    Only  Achilles  is  able  to  overthrow  him. 

Hecuba,  Andromache,  and  Helen  in  the  Iliad,  and  Nausicaa, 
Penelope,  and  the  restored  Helen  in  the  Odyssey  are  all  clearly 
and  admirably  drawn.  In  a  barbaric  age  these  women  are  sensi- 
tive, gracious,  delicate,  courageous,  beautiful — all  types  of  true 
womanliness. 


GREEK  LITERATURE  65 

The  Olympic  gods,  dwelling  in  their  home  among  the  clouds  and 
mingling  in  the  affairs  of  men,  make  interesting  figures,  as  clearly 
defined  as  the  Homeric  men  and  women.  Zeus  (Jupiter)  aimed 
at  impartiality  in  the  fortunes  of  Troy.  Hera  (Juno),  Athene 
(Minerva),  and  Poseidon  (Neptune)  favored  the  Greeks;  Aphro- 
dite (Venus)  and  Ares  (Mars),  the  Trojans.  Phoebus  Apollo  took 
sometimes  one  side,  sometimes  the  other. 

The  following  outline  indicates  in  very  condensed  form  the 
material  of  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey: 

THE  ILIAD 

It  is  the  tenth  year  of  the  war,  and  the  Greeks  are  on  the  plain  of 
Troy  besieging  the  city.  A  furious  quarrel  arises  in  the  Greek  camp 
between  Agamemnon  and  Achilles  over  the  female  captive  Briseis, 
who  is  claimed  by  Agamemnon.  Achilles  yields  the  point,  but  with- 
draws from  the  conflict  and  sulks  in  his  tent.  Nevertheless  Agamem- 
non, misled  by  a  dream,  induces  his  host  to  make  a  general  attack  upon 
the  Trojans.  At  the  moment  of  attack  Paris,  spurred  on  by  Hector, 
challenges  Menelaus  to  single  combat,  the  result  to  decide  the  war. 
Paris  is  worsted,  but  is  saved  by  Aphrodite  and  there  is  no  decision. 
The  gods  succeed  in  breaking  the  truce  between  the  two  armies,  and  a 
furious  general  battle  is  waged,  with  heroic  exploits  by  Diomed,  Ajax, 
and  Hector.  The  Greeks,  with  fortune  against  them,  are  driven  back  to 
their  camp  and  build  a  wall  for  protection.  Zeus  commands  that  the 
gods  shall  be  impartial.  An  embassy,  headed  by  Odysseus,  is  sent  to 
Achilles,  for  the  Greeks  are  in  sore  straits,  but  Achilles  answers  with 
scorn  and  withholds  his  assistance.  In  the  ensuing  battle  Agamemnon 
does  heroic  deeds  until  he  is  wounded,  but  by  slow  degrees  the  Greeks 
lose  ground,  and  finally  Hector  breaks  through  the  Greek  wall  at  the 
head  of  his  troops.  However,  the  god  Poseidon  at  this  point  eludes  the 
vigilance  of  Zeus  and  aids  the  Greeks  in  person.  Both  sides  show  great 
prowess.  Hector  is  wounded  by  Ajax,  but  he  is  restored  by  Apollo,  and 
the  Trojans  force  the  Greeks  back  to  their  ships,  where  Ajax  proves 
the  chief  tower  of  defense.  Patroclus  pleads  the  Greek  cause  with  his 
friend  Achilles  and,  borrowing  the  armor  of  Achilles,  appears  in  the 
Greek  ranks  in  the  guise  of  the  mighty  leader,  thus  bringing  a  turn  in 
the  fortunes  of  the  Greeks.  Back  the  Trojans  are  driven,  but  Patroclus 
is  ultimately  slain  by  Hector.  There  is  a  desperate  struggle  for  his  body. 
Achilles,  informed  of  the  loss  of  his  friend,  is  filled  with  grief,  and  his 


66  LrrKRATURl-:  Ol-  THE  WORLD 

raRc  against  Hector  is  unbounded.  He  is  reconciled  to  Agamemnon  and 
enters  the  fight  clad  in  a  glorious  suit  of  armor  forged  by  Hephaestus. 
The  battle  is  on  a  stupendous  scale ;  even  the  gods  descend  from  high 
Olympus  and  join  forces  with  both  sides,  ^neas  is  saved  from  Achilles 
only  by  the  interposition  of  Poseidon,  and  Hector  by  Apollo.  In  his 
rage  .'\chilles  even  insults  the  god  of  the  river,  who  fights  with  him 
until  Hepha-stus  interferes.  At  last  the  Trojans,  fleeing  before  Achilles, 
seek  refuge  within  their  gates,  but  Hector  remains  to  engage  in  mortal 
combat  with  Achilles.  In  momentary  terror  he  turns  and  flees  and  is 
driven  three  times  around  the  walls  of  Troy,  until  Athene  by  a  trick 
induces  him  to  face  his  enemy.  Meanwhile  Zeus  weighs  the  lots  in  his 
golden  scales,  and  the  Trojan  hero's  death  is  decreed.  Hector  is  slain 
by  Achilles.  News  of  the  tragedy  causes  consternation  and  sorrow  in 
the  city.  Achilles  drags  the  body  of  Hector  exultantly  around  Troy, 
returns  to  camp,  and  there  presides  over  the  elaborate  funeral  rites  in 
honor  of  Patroclus.  The  aged  Priam  of  Troy  comes  by  night  to  plead 
with  Achilles  for  the  body  of  Hector.  His  prayer  is  granted,  and  Priam 
returns.    With  the  funeral  of  Hector  the  poem  closes. 

THE  ODYSSEY 

Ten  years  have  passed  since  Troy's  fall.  Various  adventures  have 
hindered  Odysseus  from  reaching  his  home  in  Ithaca,  and  he  is  now  in 
an  island  of  the  far  west,  detained  by  the  sea  nymph  Calypso.  Athene, 
planning  for  his  release,  visits  Ithaca  and  urges  Telemachus,  the  son  of 
Odysseus,  to  go  in  quest  of  his  father.  His  journey  carries  him  as  far 
as  Sparta,  where  he  visits  Menelaus  and  Helen  and  learns  of  Odysseus' 
whereabouts.  Penelope  in  his  absence,  though  sore  beset  by  boisterous 
and  insolent  suitors,  is  comforted  by  Athene.  Calypso  is  now  forced  by 
the  gods  to  let  Odysseus  go.  The  hero  builds  a  raft  and  sails  away,  only 
to  be  wrecked  by  his  old  enemy  Poseidon.  Saved  by  the  goddess  Ino, 
he  is  cast  on  the  shore  of  the  land  of  the  Phaeacians.  Odysseus  discov- 
ers the  princess  Nausicaa,  who  leads  him  to  her  father's  court.  Here  he 
narrates  his  adventures  since  leaving  Troy — first  in  Thrace,  then  among 
the  Lotus-eators,  then  in  the  land  of  the  Cyclopes.  He  tells  of  his  ex- 
periences with  the  wind  god.  .T.olus,  and  the  consequent  disaster;  of  his 
ill  luck  with  the  barbarous  Laestr>-gonians ;  of  the  sorceries  of  Circe;  of 
his  visit  to  the  abode  of  the  dead  and  his  talks  with  departed  spirits ; 
of  the  Sirens,  and  of  the  frightful  monsters  Scylla  and  Charybdis ;  of 
the  slaughter  of  the  sacred  cattle  of  the  sun,  the  loss  of  his  men,  and 
his  final  escape  to  Caly-pso's  isle.   The  friendly  Phaeacians  convey  Odys- 


GREEK  LITERATURE  67 

seus  to  Ithaca,  and  here,  with  the  help  of  Athene,  he  takes  the  disguise 
of  an  old  beggar.  He  talks  to  Eumaeus,  his  long-time  swineherd,  but 
is  not  recognized.  Telemachus  at  this  point  returns  from  his  journey 
and  in  the  dwelling  of  Eumaeus  meets  his  father,  who  reveals  himself. 
A  plan  is  made  for  the  overthrow  of  the  suitors.  Arrived  at  the  palace 
in  his  beggar's  garb,  Odysseus  is  recognized  by  his  old  dog  Argos.  Pe- 
nelope does  not  know  him,  but  she  discloses  many  facts  regarding  her 
present  situation.  By  chance  Odysseus'  old  nurse,  Eurycleia,  discovers 
his  identity,  but  guards  the  secret.  A  trial  of  skill  with  the  bow  of 
Odysseus  is  now  proposed  to  the  suitors  by  Penelope,  but  in  the  attempt 
none  of  them  can  as  much  as  bend  the  bow.  The  supposed  beggar  per- 
forms the  task  with  ease.  Odysseus  now  throws  off  his  disguise  and, 
with  the  aid  of  Telemachus  and  two  others,  slays  the  suitors.  Penelope 
in  joy  discovers  her  lord.  In  two  episodes  Hermes  conducts  the  souls 
of  the  suitors  to  Hades,  and  Odysseus  visits  his  aged  father,  Laertes. 
The  poem  ends  with  the  solemn  peace  made  between  Odysseus  and  the 
Ithacans. 

Technical  matters.  Homer's  verse  form  is  dactylic  hexameter. 
It  is  a  form  not  very  familiar  to  us,  though  occasionally  used,  as  by 
Longfellow  in  "Evangeline."  A  few  lines  from  Matthew  Arnold's 
experiments  in  translating  Homer  in  the  original  meter  will  be 
illuminating : 

'"I  of  myself  know  well,  that  here  I  am  destined  to  perish, 
Far  from  my  father  and  mother  dear :  for  all  that  I  will  not 
Stay  this  hand  from  fight,  till  the  Trojans  are  utterly  routed.' 
So  he  spake  and  drove  with  a  cry  his  steeds  into  battle." 

Seymour  says : 

"The  language  was  the  most  graceful  and  flexible  which  the  world 
has  ever  known.  The  verse  itself  would  indicate  that  epic  poetry  had 
been  cultivated  in  Greece  long  before  Homer's  day.  Its  laws  are  fully 
fixed :  its  favorite  and  its  forbidden  pauses ;  the  places  where  a  Hght 
and  those  where  a  heavy  movement  is  preferred.  No  verse  known  to 
man  is  so  well  suited  to  a  long  Greek  narrative  poem.  No  other  verse 
has  less  monotony  or  more  dignity  and  stateliness.  It  was  nobly  'de- 
scribed and  exemplified'  by  Coleridge's  lines  : 

'Strongly  it  bears  us  along  in  swelling  and  limitless  billows; 
Nothing  before  and  nothing  behind  but  the  sky  and  the  ocean.'" 


68  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

In  tin-  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey  there  are  twenty-four  books  each, 
of  differing  length  (the  shortest  about  four  hundred  lines  and  the 
longest  about  nine  hundred).  The  Iliad  is  the  more  imaginative, 
the  Odyssey  the  more  diversified.  Both  are  written  in  what 
Matthew  Arnold  terms  "the  grand  style."  He  says,  "Homer  is 
rapid  in  his  movement,  Homer  is  plain  in  his  words  and  style, 
Homer  is  simple  in  his  ideas,  Homer  is  noble  in  his  manner." 
Epithets  and  similes  abound.  Of  the  latter  there  are  one  hundred 
and  eighty  in  the  Iliad  and  a  much  smaller  number  in  the  Odyssey. 

Much  of  the  attractiveness  and  nobility  of  these  epics  disappears, 
of  course,  in  the  translation,  yet  the  verse  renderings  of  Chapman, 
Pope,  Cowper,  and  Bryant  are  all  good,  as  well  as  the  prose  transla- 
tion of  Lang,  Leaf,  and  Myers  (Iliad)  and  that  of  Butcher  and  Lang 
(Odyssey).  Palmer's  rhythmical  prose  version  of  the  Odyssey 
should  also  be  mentioned.  The  extracts  given  below  are  taken  for 
the  sake  of  unity  from  one  translation,  that  of  Bryant. 

Homeric  characteristics  and  poetic  qualities.  The  actual 
events  of  the  Iliad  are  confined  to  a  few  days.  The  same  sense  of 
unity  and  compression  is  gained  in  the  Odyssey  by  the  device  of 
having  Odysseus  tell  to  the  Phseacian  king  at  a  single  sitting  his 
varied  adventures  during  the  preceding  years.  The  narrative  moves 
on  swiftly.  In  the  Iliad  the  wrath  of  Achilles  dominates  everything. 
His  quarrel  with  Agamemnon  affects  the  Greeks  unfavorably  at 
once,  as  later  his  fierce  rage  against  Hector  spells  ruin  for  the  Tro- 
jans. Hector  is  doomed  long  before  Zeus  lifts  the  scales.  In  the 
Odyssey  the  impression  is  conveyed  early  that  Odysseus'  long  travels 
away  from  home  are  about  to  close  and  that  vengeance  upon  the 
suitors  is  imminent. 

Both  epics  abound  in  great  scenes,  as  the  quarrel  between  Aga- 
memnon and  .Achilles.  Hector's  parting  with  Andromache  before 
the  battle,  the  death  of  Patroclus,  the  heroic  conflict  between  Hec- 
tor and  .Achilles.  Odysseus'  experience  with  Polyphemus,  the  en- 
chantments of  Circe,  the  visit  to  the  dead,  the  episode  of  Nausicaa 
and  her  maidens,  the  slaughter  of  the  suitors. 

To  examine  in  detail  both  poems  would  carry  us  beyond  our 
limits.  But  let  us  make  a  brief  study  of  the  Iliad.  Our  first  impres- 


GREEK  LITERATURE  69 

sion  is  of  sheer  barbarism — blood,  dreadful  carnage,  hatred,  fero- 
cious cruelty,  an  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth : 

"They  met  each  other  man  to  man  ;  they  rushed 
Like  wolves  to  combat.  Cruel  strife  looked  on 
Rejoicing." 

"As  on  some  tall  rock 
Two  vultures  with  curved  talons  and  hooked  beaks, 
Fight  screaming,  so  these  two  with  furious  cries 
Advanced  against  each  other." 

Achilles  is  as  brave  as  a  lion,  but  also  as  savage.    "With  him  there 
dwells  no  touch  of  pity." 

"Amidst  them  all  the  great  Achilles  stood, 
Putting  his  armor  on  ;  he  gnashed  his  teeth  ; 
His  eyes  shot  fire ;  a  grief  too  sharp  to  bear 
Was  in  his  heart,  as,  filled  with  rage  against 
The  men  of  Troy,  he  cased  his  limbs  in  mail." 

"'Accursed  Hector,  never  talk  to  me 
Of  covenants.    Men  and  lions  plight  no  faith, 
Nor  wolves  agree  with  lambs,  but  each  must  plan 
Evil  against  the  other.    So  between 
Thyself  and  me  no  compact  can  exist. 
Or  understood  intent.'" 


But  Homer  moves  in  a  large  and  spacious  world,  and  along  with 
the  barbarism  of  his  times,  so  faithfully  recorded,  we  get  as  power- 
ful a  picture  of  heroism  and  great  deeds. 

"Upon  his  brow 
The  gleaming  helmet  nodded  as  he  moved. 
On  every  side  he  tried  the  phalanxes, 
If  haply  they  might  yield  to  his  assault, 
Made  from  beneath  that  buckler ;  but  the  Greeks 
In  spirit  or  in  order  wavered  not." 


70  LITERATURK  01-  THE  WORLD 

"Then  they  dici  fight  like  fire.    You  could  not  say 
The  sun  was  safe,  nor  yet  the  moon,  so  thick 
A  darkness  gathered  over  the  brave  men 
Around  the  corpse  of  Mencetiades." 

The  Iliad  displays  a  close  observation  of  men  and  nature.  Many 
of  the  similes  used  are  very  beautiful  and  are  characterized  by 
great  exactness. 

"The  assembly  wavered  to  and  fro 
Like  the  long  billows  of  the  Icarian  Sea, 
Roused  by  the  East  wind  and  the  South,  that  rush 
Forth  from  the  cloudy  seat  of  Father  Jove ; 
Or  like  the  harvest-field,  when  west  winds  stoop 
Suddenly  from  above,  and  toss  the  wheat." 

Pallas  causes  a  flame  to  appear  upon  Diomed's  head, 

"Like  to  the  autumnal  star  that  shines  in  heaven 
Most  brightly  when  new-bathed  in  ocean  tides." 

Diomed  trembles  as  he  beholds  the  god  Mars, 

"And,  as  one  who,  journeying 
Along  a  way  he  knows  not,  having  crossed 
A  place  of  drear  extent,  before  him  sees 
A  river  rushing  swiftly  towards  the  deep, 
And  all  its  tossing  current  white  with  foam, 
And  stops  and  turns,  and  measures  back  his  way, 
So  then  did  Diomed  withdraw." 

"Not  with  such  noise  the  ocean-billows  lash 
The  mainland,  when  the  violent  north  wind 
Tumbles  them  shoreward ;  not  with  such  a  noise 
Roar  the  fierce  flames  within  the  mountain  glen, 
When  leaping  upward  to  consume  the  trees ; 
And  not  so  loudly  howls  the  hurricane 
.\mong  the  lofty  branches  of  the  oaks 
When  in  its  greatest  fury,  as  now  rose 


GREEK  LITERATURE  71 

The  din  of  battle  from  the  hosts  that  rushed 
Against  each  other  with  terrific  cries." 

There  are  a  thousand  human  touches  in  the  Iliad — pictures  of 
life,  pathetic  incidents,  moments  of  high  resolve,  reminiscences  of 
personal  experiences  and  common  joys. 

"At  once  they  reared  the  mast 
And  opened  the  white  sails ;  the  canvas  swelled 
Before  the  wind,  and  hoarsely  round  the  keel 
The  dark  waves  murmured  as  the  ship  flew  on." 

"Paris  in  the  Trojan  van  pressed  on, 
In  presence  hke  a  god.    A  leopard's  hide 
Was  thrown  across  his  shoulders,  and  he  bore 
A  crooked  bow  and  falchion." 

We  have  a  picture  of  Helen  in  the  palace, 

"Weaving  there 
An  ample  web,  a  shining  double-robe, 
Whereon  were  many  conflicts  fairly  wrought." 

Hector's  farewell  to  Andromache  and  his  child  is  very  beautiful:  The 
boy  is  frightened  at  the  nodding  plume  on  his  father's  head,  but 
Hector  removes  his  headdress  and  kisses  the  boy  and  tosses  him  up 
in  play  before  he  departs.  In  another  place  Hector  proposes  nobly 
to  Ajax  on  the  field  of  battle : 

"Let  us  now 
Each  with  the  other  leave  some  noble  gift, 
That  all  men,  Greek  or  Trojan,  thus  may  say : 
'They  fought  indeed  in  bitterness  of  heart, 
But  they  were  reconciled,  and  parted  friends.'" 

Patroclus,  seeking  comfort  for  the  disasters  of  the  Greeks,  is  com- 
pared to 


'A  little  girl  that  by  her  mother's  side 
Runs,  importuning  to  be  taken  up. 


72  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

An<l  i)lucks  hcT  l)y  the  robe,  and  stops  her  way, 
And  looks  at  her,  and  cries,  until  at  last 
She  rests  within  her  arms." 

Vulcan  on  the  shield  of  Achilles  engraves 

"A  fair,  broad  pasture,  in  a  pleasant  glade, 
Full  of  white  sheep,  and  stalls,  and  cottages, 
And  many  a  shepherd's  fold  with  sheltering  roof." 

In  the  same  connection  a  village  dance  is  described : 

"The  maids  wore  wreaths  of  flowers ;  the  young  men  swords 
Of  gold  in  silver  belts.    They  bounded  now 
In  a  swift  circle,  .  .  . 

Then  again  they  crossed 
Each  other,  darting  to  their  former  place." 

The  death  of  Hector  is  tragically  treated: 

"His  father,  who  so  loved  him,  piteously 
Bewailed  him  ;  and  in  all  the  streets  of  Troy 
The  people  wept  aloud,  with  such  lament 
As  if  the  towery  Ilium  were  in  flames 
Even  to  its  loftiest  roofs." 

Gods  and  men.  The  Homeric  gods, -though  human  in  form  and 
subject  to  human  wants  and  affections,  were  immortal  and  were  en- 
dowed with  power  greatly  exceeding  that  of  mortals,  even  if  liable 
to  certain  limitations  of  energy  and  knowledge.  To  the  early  Greek, 
religion  was  an  interpretation  of  nature  and  of  human  passions,  and 
he  impersonated  the  earth,  the  sky,  the  sea,  love,  war,  wisdom, 
music.  The  caves  and  fountains  had  their  nymphs,  the  woods  their 
dryads.  The  winds,  the  morning  star,  the  dawTi,  all  had  fair  per- 
sonalities. G.  Lowes  Dickinson,  in  commenting  on  a  passage  of  great 
beauty  in  Iliad  23,  where  the  winds  fan  the  flame  of  the  funeral 
pyre  of  Patroclus,  says : 

"All  that  is  unintelligible  in  the  world,  all  that  is  alien  to  man,  has 
been  drawn,  as  it  were,  from  its  dark  retreat,  clothed  in  radiant  form, 
and  presented  to  the  mind  as  a  glorified  image  of  itself.    Every  phe- 


GREEK  LITERATURE  73 

nomenon  of  nature,  night  and  'rosy-fingered'  dawn,  earth  and  sun, 
winds,  rivers,  and  seas,  sleep  and  death — all  have  been  transformed  into 
divine  and  conscious  agents,  to  be  propitiated  by  prayer,  interpreted 
by  divination,  and  comprehended  by  passions  and  desires  identical  with 
those  which  stir  and  control  mankind."^ 

Religion  made  the  Greek  "at  home  in  the  world."  It  stirred  his 
imagination  and  intellect,  but  not  his  conscience.  To  quote  Dickin- 
son further : 

"There  was  no  knowing  precisely  what  a  god  might  want ;  there  was 
no  knowing  what  he  might  be  going  to  do.  If  a  man  fell  into  trouble,  no 
doubt  he  had  offended  somebody,  but  it  was  not  so  easy  to  say  whom  or 
how.  ...  It  was  a  difficult  thing  to  ascertain  or  to  move  the  will  of  the 
gods,  and  one  must  help  oneself  as  best  one  could.  The  Greek,  accord- 
ingly, helped  himself  by  an  elaborate  system  of  sacrifice  and  prayer  and 
divination,  a  system  which  had  no  connection  with  an  internal  spirit- 
ual life,  but  the  object  of  which  was  simply  to  discover  and  if  possible 
to  affect  the  divine  purposes." 

There  are  many  pictures  in  Homer  of  the  gods  and  of  their  rela- 
tions with  men.  These  are  of  great  and  curious  interest.  Zeus  and 
Athene  loom  large  and  frequently  inspire  terror. 

"No  man  dared  to  drink 
Who  had  not  paid  to  Saturn's  mighty  son 
The  due  libation." 

But  even  Zeus  was  capricious  and  uncertain.  His  councils  on  high 
Olympus  sometimes  descended  to  burlesque — the  only  burlesque  of 
which  Homer  was  guilty.  And  great  Zeus  himself  was  subject  to  a 
higher  power,  that  of  Fate. 

"The  All-Father  raised  the  golden  balance  high. 
And,  placing  in  the  scales  two  lots  which  bring 
Death's  long  dark  sleep, — one  lot  for  Peleus'  son, 
And  one  for  knightly  Hector. — by  the  midst 
He  poised  the  balance.    Hector's  fate  sank  down 
To  Hades,  and  Apollo  left  the  field." 

iThe  Greek  View  of  Life,  p.  7. 


74  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

One  last  passage  may  be  added,  exhibiting  the  balance  and  com- 
mon sense  of  the  heroic  Hector  in  the  midst  of  the  perplexities  that 
surrounded  him : 

"Thou  dost  ask 
That  I  be  governed  by  the  flight  of  birds, 
Which  I  regard  not,  whether  to  the  right 
And  toward  the  morning  and  the  sun  they  fly, 
Or  toward  the  left  and  evening.    We  should  heed 
The  will  of  mighty  Jupiter,  who  bears 
Rule  over  gods  and  men.    One  augury 
There  is,  the  surest  and  the  best, — to  fight 
For  our  own  land." 

The  Homeric  gods  are  glorified  men,  gods  in  the  likeness  of  men, 
but  the  noble  Hector  seems  to  be  a  more  notable  thing — a  man  in 
the  likeness  of  the  gods. 

Hesiod,  a  Greek  poet  who  lived  probably  a  century  later  than 
Homer,  seems  to  have  been  a  lower-class  farmer  of  Boeotia.  He 
gives  a  complete  and  depressing  picture  of  his  times.  "Works  and 
Days,"  a  poem  of  over  eight  hundred  verses,  is  his  chief  work.  It 
is  didactic,  or  of  a  sermonizing  or  instructional  character.  It  warns 
against  idleness,  enjoins  honest  labor,  tells  of  the  tasks  of  the  farmer, 
and  gives  a  calendar  of  lucky  days.  There  are  some  eloquent  pas- 
sages, but  as  a  whole  the  poem  is  dull  and  heavy.  Virgil's  "  Georgics," 
written  eight  centuries  later,  was,  however,  inspired  by  "Works 
and  Days."  The  other  poem  of  consequence  attributed  to  Hesiod 
is  "Theogony,"  which  presents  an  account  of  the  origin  and  history 
of  the  gods  and  of  the  Greek  heroes.  Hesiod  is  thus  a  student  of 
mythology  as  well  as  an  agriculturist.  His  influence  on  later  writers 
and  thinkers  was  considerable. 

The  Lyric  Age 

From  the  times  of  Hesiod  until  the  general  period  of  the  Persian 
invasions  (roughly  from  735  to  480  B.C.)  the  only  conspicuous 
writings  that  have  come  down  to  us  are  fragments  from  seven  of 
nine  famous  lyric  poets.   The  beginnings  of  lyric  poetry  do  not  go 


GREEK  LITERATURE  75 

back  much  before  700  b.c.  There  was  thus  after  Homer's  time  a 
dark  age  of  almost  two  centuries  which  yielded  no  literature.  The 
decadent  epic  was  passing  away  and  the  lyric  had  not  arrived. 

Politically  this  general  period  was  of  great  importance.  The 
Greeks  colonized  as  far  north  as  the  Black  Sea,  as  far  east  as  the 
island  of  Cyprus,  and  as  far  west  as  Sicily,  the  mainland  of  Italy, 
and  the  coast  of  later  France.  Their  rapidly  developing  civilization 
was  communicated  to  the  peoples  of  these  distant  lands.  Asia  Minor 
was  for  long  a  very  important  center  of  Greek  thought  and  litera- 
ture. In  the  Greek  peninsula,  first  Corinth  and  then  Athens  were 
the  great  commercial  centers.  The  age  of  the  nobles  passed  into  the 
age  of  the  tyrants.  Solon,  the  first  statesman  of  Greece,  gave 
through  his  reforms  an  impulse  toward  democracy  and  rendered  a 
great  service  to  Athens.  Developments  not  only  in  commerce  and 
industry  but  in  architecture,  sculpture,  music,  and  philosophy  were 
taking  place,  looking  forward  to  the  glorious  Attic  Age. 

Mahaffy  enumerates  several  social  traits  and  characteristics  of 
the  period.  The  Greeks  had  a  keen  love  of  pleasure  and  a  desire 
for  wealth  for  the  sake  of  the  enjoyments  of  life.  They  hated  old 
age.  Instances  of  selfishness,  factional  rivalries,  and  dishonesty 
abound  ;  also  to  some  extent  a  lack  of  personal  bravery  was  exhib- 
ited. On  the  other  hand,  moderation  and  quietness  had  come  to 
be  well-recognized  Greek  qualities.  The  Greeks  believed  in  hospi- 
tality and  practiced  it.  Their  attitude  toward  women  and  children 
was  on  the  whole  commendable  (note  the  extract  from  Simonides 
as  given  below).  The  Homeric  idea  of  love  had  deepened  and 
expanded  into  something  like  what  we  mean  by  the  term  today. 
There  was  a  leveling  of  class  distinctions,  a  stronger  democratic 
feeling.  The  ideas  of  Solon  and  Pisistratus  on  these  subjects  ap- 
pealed strongly  to  the  Greeks.  Less  thought  was  given  to  ancient 
glories  than  formerly,  and  there  was  a  wholesome  sense  of  the 
present.  The  lyrists  were  realists.  Culture  and  the  intellectual  life 
showed  an  enormous  advance.  The  Greeks  were  "tortured  by  an 
insatiable  curiosity  and  a  fierce  desire  for  perfection." 

Religious  ideas  had  also  changed.  Polytheism  of  the  older  kind 
had  passed ;  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  build  a  religious  creed  on 


76  LITERATURE  OK  THE  WORLD 

the  old  myths.  Whilr  the  average  standard  of  morals  was  none 
too  high,  the  better  minds  were  fmding  a  surer  motive  for  honesty 
and  goodness  th;in  the  wrath  of  the  gods  of  the  Homeric  world. 
The  old  idea  of  the  conllicting  passions  of  independent  gods  had 
disappeared.  The  Olympic  contests,  religious  in  their  impulse,  were 
established  as  early  as  776  n.c.  The  sanctuary  and  oracle  of 
Apollo  at  Delphi  became  famous  throughout  the  Greek  world. 

Centuries  later  the  critics  of  Alexandria,  looking  back  to  this 
period,  distinguished  nine  lyric  poets  of  the  first  rank.  Their  work 
covered  two  hundred  years  (650  to  450  B.C.).  Only  fragments 
remain,  so  beautiful  and  significant  that  the  loss  of  the  major  part 
is  most  regrettable. 

Sappho.  Lyric  poetry  is  subjective  and  has  to  do  with  the  in- 
dividual— his  hopes,  dreams,  longings,  and  various  moods.  Greek 
lyric  poetry  was  intended  to  be  sung,  either  by  a  single  voice  (.ka- 
lian lyrics)  or  as  chorals  (Dorian  lyrics) .  It  was  written  in  stanzas 
of  widely  differing  length  and  metrical  form.  We  distinguish  court 
poets,  poets  of  the  aristocratic  class,  and  poets  of  the  people.  Among 
the  nine  chief  lyrists  all  parts  of  Greece  and  its  colonies  were  repre- 
sented. IVIention  must  be  made  particularly  of  the  ^Eolian  island 
of  Lesbos,  famed  for  its  charm  of  nature  and  greatness  of  art  and 
for  the  cultivation  of  its  people.  This  was  the  home  of  Sappho 
(sixth  century  b.c),  probably  the  greatest  woman  poet  the  world 
has  known.    Professor  Jebb  writes : 

"The  fragments  of  her  poetry  are  unique,  both  for  their  wonderful 
melody  and  for  the  intensity  of  passion  which  the  musical  words  ex- 
press. They  also  show  the  finest  sense  of  beauty  in  the  natural  world : 
in  the  night  sky,  when  the  stars  pale  before  the  full  moon ;  or  in  places 
where  cool  streams  are  shadowed  by  fruit  trees,  and  'slumber  is  shed' 
on  weary  eyelids  'from  the  rustling  leaves.'" 

She  was  the  head  of  a  school  of  poets  in  Lesbos.  The  following 
translation  (by  J.  'SI.  Edmonds),  with  conjectural  restorations,  is 
of  a  poem  addressed  to  a  pupil  named  .Atthis,  referring  to  another 
pupil,  who  had  evidently  taken  up  her  residence  across  the  sea  at 
Sardis: 


GREEK  LITERATURE  77 

"Atthis,  our  beloved  Mnasidica  dwells  at  far-off  Sardis,  but  she  often 
sends  her  thoughts  hither,  thinking  how  once  we  used  to  live  in  the 
days  when  she  thought  thee  like  a  glorious  goddess,  and  loved  thy 
song  the  best.  And  now  she  shines  among  the  dames  of  Lydia  as  after 
sunset  the  rosy-fingered  moon  beside  the  stars  that  are  about  her,  when 
she  spreads  her  light  o'er  briny  sea  and  eke  o'er  flowery  field,  while  the 
good  dew  lies  on  the  ground  and  the  roses  revive  and  the  dainty  an- 
thrysc  and  the  honey-lotus  with  all  its  blooms.  And  oftentime  when 
our  beloved,  wandering  abroad,  calls  to  mind  her  gentle  Atthis,  the 
heart  devours  her  tender  breast  with  the  pain  of  longing ;  and  she  cries 
aloud  to  us  to  come  thither ;  and  what  she  says  we  know  full  well,  thou 
and  I,  for  Night,  the  many-eared,  calls  it  to  us  across  the  dividing  sea." 

Sappho's  poems  were  arranged  in  nine  books,  but  all  have  disap- 
peared with  the  exception  of  a  few  precious  fragments.  Such  of 
our  English  poets  as  Swinburne,  Rossetti,  Symonds,  and  others 
have  translated  these  fragments  with  rare  felicity.  Note  Symonds's 
free  rendering  of  a  brief  poem  of  Sappho: 

"Yea,  thou  shalt  die, 
And  lie 

Dumb  in  the  silent  tomb; 
Nor  of  thy  name 
Shall  there  be  any  fame 

In  ages  yet  to  be  or  years  to  come : 
For  of  the  flowering  rose 
Which  on  Pieria  blows, 

Thou  hast  no  share  : 
But  in  sad  Hades'  house, 
Unknown,  inglorious, 

'Mid  the  dim  shades  that  wander  there 

Shalt  thou  flit  forth  and  haunt  the  filmy  air." 

The  following  is  a  combination  of  two  fragments  translated  by 
Rossetti  and  entitled  "Beauty": 


"Like  the  sweet  apple  which  reddens  upon  the  topmost  bough, 
A-top  on  the  topmost  twig. — which  the  pluckers  forgot  somehow, — 
Forgot  it  not,  nay,  but  got  it  not,  for  none  could  get  it  till  now. 


78  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

II 

"Like  the  wild  hyacinth  flower  which  on  the  hills  is  found, 
Which  the  passing  feet  of  the  shepherds  for  ever  tear  and  wound, 
Until  the  purple  blossom  is  trodden  upon  the  ground." 

Pindar.  A  considerable  amount  of  the  poetry  of  Pindar  has  been 
preserved.  He  and  Simonides  were  the  greatest  representatives  of 
the  second  period  of  Greek  lyric  poetry,  which,  instead  of  being 
local  in  its  appeal  was  addressed  to  all  Greece.  The  Greeks  them- 
selves regarded  Pindar  as  their  chief  lyric  poet,  and  "he  was  so 
beloved  by  Apollo  that  he  even  received  a  share  of  the  offerings." 
Centuries  after  his  death  there  was  displayed  in  the  temple  at 
Delphi  an  iron  chair  in  which  he  had  been  accustomed  to  sit 
while  chanting  his  songs  to  Apollo.  His  death  did  not  occur  until 
443  B.C.  Such  of  his  poems  as  have  come  down  to  us  entire  are 
odes  of  victory  celebrating  the  Olympic  games.  The  fragments  con- 
sist of  hymns,  songs  of  praise,  choral  songs,  dirges,  etc. — a  great 
variety.  His  home  was  at  Thebes,  and  he  is  the  greatest  of  all  The- 
bans.  He  accepted  the  religious  beliefs  of  his  time,  but  with  striking 
reservations.  His  character  seems  to  have  been  hard  and  self- 
centered.  "I  mean  to  live  for  myself,  not  for  someone  else,"  he  said 
to  Simonides.  Matthew  Arnold  speaks  of  Pindar  as  "the  poet  on 
whom  above  all  other  poets  the  power  of  style  seems  to  have  exer- 
cised an  inspiring  and  intoxicating  effect."  Pindar's  poems  con- 
tain numberless  images  drawn  from  an  astonishing  variety  of 
sources — from  common  life,  from  sports  and  pastimes,  from  na- 
ture, from  travel.  His  odes  are  generally  developed  from  mytho- 
logical stories.  Their  religious  and  moral  sentiments  are  striking. 
Pindar  himself  did  not  fail  to  recognize  his  originality  as  poet  and 
artist.  "Mine  be  it,"  he  said,  "to  invent  new  strains,  mine  the 
skill  to  hold  my  course  in  the  chariot  of  the  ISIuses ;  and  may  cour- 
age go  with  me,  and  the  power  of  ample  grasp."  Professor  Jebb 
has  translated  passages  showing  Pindar's  feeling  for  nature :  "The 
chamber  of  the  hours  is  opened,  and  delicate  plants  perceive  the 
fragrant  spring."  Etna,  "pillar  of  the  sky,  nurse  of  keen  snow  all 
the  year,"  sends  forth  "pure  springs  of  fire  unapproachable."    Pin- 


GREEK  LITERATURE  79 

dar's  love  of  art  in  every  form  is  unequaled  among  the  Greek  poets. 
His  poetry  is  noble  and  nobly  conceived,  though  sometimes  difficult 
and  obscure.  One  of  his  fine  emotional  passages  is  thus  translated 
by  Mackail : 

"Things  of  a  day,  what  are  we  and  what  are  we  not?  The  shadow  of 
a  dream  is  humankind  ;  yet  when  a  god-given  splendor  falls,  light  shines 
radiant  upon  men  and  life  is  sweet." 

Simonides.  At  the  close  of  the  lyric  period  the  widespread 
Ionian  culture  was  concentrating  in  Athens.  Simonides  (556- 
469  B.C.)  lived  on  the  island  of  Ceos,  close  to  Attica;  much  of  his 
life  was  spent  in  Athens.  The  story  is  told  that  for  a  time  he  shared 
with  Pindar  and  ^schylus  the  hospitality  of  Hiero,  the  tyrant  of 
Syracuse.  Simonides  was  a  great  and  original  poet.  He  wrote 
dirges  and  epitaphs,  odes  of  victory,  and  odes  in  praise  of  men.  His 
verses  on  the  heroes  of  Thermopylae  have  a  marked  beauty  and 
elevation  even  in  the  following  translation,  though  the  translator, 
Jebb,  says  that  they  have  "a  beauty  of  form  which  no  prose  version 


"Glorious  was  the  fortune  of  those  who  died  at  Thermopylae,  and 
fair  is  their  fate ;  their  tomb  is  an  altar.  Others  are  bewailed,  but  they 
are  remembered ;  others  are  pitied,  but  they  are  praised.  Such  a  monu- 
ment shall  never  moulder,  nor  shall  it  be  defaced  by  all-conquering 
time.  The  sepulchre  of  brave  men  has  taken  the  glory  of  Hellas  to 
dwell  with  it ;  be  Leonidas  the  witness,  Sparta's  king,  who  has  left  be- 
hind him  the  great  beauty  of  prowess  and  an  immortal  name." 

Mackail  pays  tribute  to  the  settled  perfection  of  Simonides  and  to 
his  "spontaneous  balance  of  thought  and  expression  which  makes 
great  literature."  Wordsworth  in  a  beautiful  sonnet  calls  Simonides 
"the  noblest  Poet  that  can  be,  who  sang  in  ancient  Greece  his 
moving  lay."  The  finest  fragment  that  survives  of  the  poetry  of 
Simonides  is  a  dirge :  the  mother  Danae,  with  the  infant  Perseus 
asleep  in  her  arms,  is  comforted  at  the  thought  that  her  babe  is 
unconscious  of  the  dangers  of  the  dark  and  stormy  sea.  Dean 
Milman's  version  follows : 


8o  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"When  rude  around  the  high-wrought  ark 
The  tempests  raged,  the  waters  dark 
Around  the  mother  tossed  and  swelled; 
With  not  unmoistened  cheek,  she  held 
Her  Perseus  in  her  arms,  and  said : 
'What  sorrows  bow  this  hapless  head! 
Thou  sleep'st  the  while,  thy  gentle  breast 
Is  heaving  in  unbroken  rest ; 
In  this  our  dark  unjoyous  home, 
Clamped  with  the  rugged  brass,  the  gloom 
Scarce  broken  by  the  doubtful  light 
That  gleams  from  yon  dim  fires  of  night. 
But  thou,  unwet  thy  clustering  hair, 

Heed'st  not  the  billows  raging  wild, 
The  moanings  of  the  bitter  air. 

Wrapt  in  thy  purple  robe,  my  beauteous  child ! 
Oh,  seemed  this  peril  perilous  to  thee, 

How  sadly  to  my  words  of  fear 

Wouldst  thou  bend  down  thy  listening  ear ! 
But  now  sleep  on,  my  child !  sleep  thou,  wide  sea  1 
Sleep,  my  unutterable  agony  ! 

O  change  thy  counsels,  Jove,  our  sorrows  end ! 

And  if  my  rash  intemperate  zeal  offend, 
For  my  child's  sake,  his  father,  pardon  me  ! '" 

It  is  not  possible  to  dwell  longer  upon  the  poetry  of  the  lyric 
period.  The  reader  is  referred  especially  to  ISIackail's  remarkable 
study  in  his  volume  of  "Lectures  on  Greek  Poetry,"  to  Symonds's 
"The  Greek  Poets,"  and  to  other  similar  books. 


The  Attic  Age  (480-300  b.c.) 

We  have  now  reached  the  great  fifth  century  B.C.,  which  was  to 
witness  the  flowering  of  the  Greek  genius  in  Attica,  with  its  center 
in  .\thens.  The  .-Xthenian  Greeks  were  lonians,  but  they  repre- 
sented a  racial  blend  which  rendered  them  superior  to  the  lonians 
of  the  colonies.  It  is  well  to  remember  a  few  important  dates  and 
events:  492  b.c,  the  year  of  the  first  Persian  expedition  against 
Greece;  404,  the  year  when  the  Athenian  Empire  was  brought  to 


82  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

a  close  and  Athens  was  taken  by  the  Spartans;  the  short-lived 
Spartan  political  ascendancy  which  followed  the  latter  event;  the 
succeeding  Thel)an  rule ;  and  finally  the  meteoric  career  of  Philip 
of  IVIaccdon  and  of  his  son  Alexander  the  Great  (ending  with  the 
death  of  the  latter  in  323  B.C.),  constituting  one  of  the  wonders  of 
military  history.  Greek  civilization  now  dominated  all  western 
Asia  and  southern  Europe. 

The  Persian  wars  and  the  Greek  civil  wars  kept  Greece  in  a 
turmoil  during  a  large  part  of  the  Attic  Age,  though  they  brought 
out  the  heroic  traits  in  the  character  of  the  race.  Simonides  sang 
of  the  men  of  Tegea,  "Their  choice  was  to  leave  their  children  a 
city  flourishing  in  freedom,  and  to  lay  down  their  own  lives  in  the 
front  of  the  battle."  1 

Under  Pericles  Athens  became  the  teacher  and  leader  of  the 
Greek  world.  It  probably  had  not  more  than  thirty  thousand  free 
inhabitants,  but  its  contribution  during  a  single  generation  to  the 
thought  and  culture  of  the  human  race  was  an  unparalleled  one. 
Important  new  conceptions  of  the  State,  and  the  rapid  develop- 
ment of  architecture  and  sculpture,  of  the  drama  and  other  branches 
of  literature,  and  of  philosophical  thought,  are  associated  inevitably 
with  the  age  of  Pericles. 

The  Greek  mind,  to  be  sure,  was  still  partly  undeveloped.  We 
find  constant  traces  of  rudeness  and  harshness ;  a  lack  of  consider- 
ation for  old  age  or  human  weakness ;  dishonesty  and  selfishness, 
even  treachery,  in  public  and  private  life.  If  there  was  a  high- 
minded  Socrates,  there  was  also  an  Alcibiades — licentious,  reck- 
less, and  unfeeling.  Aristophanes,  in  his  castigations  of  the  life  of 
the  times,  reveals  many  flaws  in  the  Greek  character.  The  other 
side  of  the  picture,  however,  is  more  pleasing.  Even  if  we  judge  the 
age  by  the  average  individual,  the  standard  seems  to  have  been 
high.  The  stories  of  Herodotus  exhibit  kindly  and  tender  feeling. 
Some  of  the  most  glorious  types  of  womanhood  conceived  in  the  lit- 
erature of  Greece  were  produced  during  this  period — witness  Antig- 
one and  .Mcestis.  We  have  glimpses  of  home  life  among  the  lower 
classes  which  make  a  strong  appeal  to  us.  The  Greeks  were  pleas- 
1  Translation  by  Jebb. 


GREEK  LITERATURE  83 

ant  and  conversational,  but  this  does  not  mean  that  they  were 
superficial.  Their  intellectual  acuteness  is  proved  by  their  attrac- 
tion to  the  great  themes  of  the  Attic  tragedians.  Ethical  and  reli- 
gious ideas  were  much  more  profound  than  during  the  preceding 
period. 

Apart  from  mere  matters  of  material  progress,  the  Periclean 
times  seem  strangely  like  our  own ;  the  intervening  centuries  offer 
no  obstacle  to  our  understanding  of  the  ancient  Greek.  If  he  could 
walk  the  streets  of  our  cities,  the  vitality  and  urge  and  the  open- 
mindedness  and  catholic  tastes  of  our  generation  would  please  him 
mightily.  We  could  teach  him  something,  but  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  our  contribution  to  him  would  be  nearly  as  significant  as 
his  contribution  to  us. 

The  Greek  drama.  On  the  side  of  literature  the  chief  glory  of 
the  Attic  Age  was  its  development  of  the  drama.  The  epic  deals 
with  the  past,  the  lyric  with  the  present,  the  drama  with  the  past 
in  the  present.  At  the  basis  of  the  Greek  drama  is  the  religious 
festival.  The  great  Greek  god  was  Zeus;  his  interpreter  was 
^ollo,  at  whose  shrine  the  Hellenic  games  took  place.  The  pop- 
ular god  Dionysus  (Bacchus) — the  god  of  wine,  or  in  a  larger  sense 
the  god  of  enthusiasm  or  the  spirit  of  life — was  associated  with  a 
religious  exercise  accompanied  by  music  and  dance.  In  its  early 
form  this  was  perhaps  no  more  than  an  impromptu  song  of  revelry, 
a  chorus  of  men  in  fantastic  costume  dancing  at  some  local  shrine 
in  honor  of  Dionysus.  Then  the  song  became  more  deliberate,  the 
exercise  more  formal,  and  a  leader  for  the  chorus  was  assigned,  with 
perhaps  an  occasional  colloquy  between  the  leader  and  the  chorus. 
The  poet  who  wrote  the  lyrics  would  naturally  be  the  leader,  and 
the  next  development  would  be  the  impersonation  of  a  few  parts  by 
the  leader,  giving  opportunity  for  some  little  dramatic  action. 
Thespis  has  the  honor  of  evolving  this  important  newjdea.  At  the 
spring  festival  in  534  b.c.  he  won  the  first  tragic  contest  instituted 
by  the  Athenian  state.  By  the  time  that  the  earliest  tragedy  of 
.^schylus,  the  first  Greek  tragedian,  was  produced,  the  art  had  de- 
veloped wonderfully ;  but  there  was  still  the  lyric  basis,  the  chpraL 
song  or  ode,  and  this  constituted  the  main  part  of  the  play. 


84  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Great  interest  naturally  attaches  to  the  open  theater  in  Athens 
where  were  first  given  the  plays  of  the  Attic  tragedians.  Contest- 
ants were  invited  to  exhibit  their  tragedies  here  for  a  state  prize 
during  the  spring  Dionysian  festival.  Visitors  came  from  all  parts 
of  Greece  and  sat  all  day  to  listen.  It  was  a  true  gathering  of  the 
people,  for  the  semicircular  seats  on  the  hillside  leading  up  toward 
the  Acropolis  would  accommodate  seventeen  thousand  people. 
The  theater  was  open  to  the  sky,  and  at  its  base  was  a  circular 
dancing-floor,  the  orchestra.  Originally  the  stage  for  the  actors 
was  not  separate  from  the  orchestra  used  by  the  chorus. 
There  was  no  embellishment,  beyond  something  to  represent  the 
tomb  of  the  hero  or  the  altar  to  the  god,  which  might  aid  the 
imagination  in  the  setting  of  the  scene.  A  building  for  the  actors' 
dressing-room  gave  way  later  to  a  more  elaborate  building  with 
doors  and  colonnades  which  served  as  a  background  for  the  play. 
The  actors'  parts  were  all  taken  by  men.  Masks  wer£jworn^a  dis- 
advantage from  our  point  of  view ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that 
the  distances  were  so  great  that  the  change  of  facial  expression 
could  not  well  be  seen,  and  that  masks  were  helpful  in  a  rapid 
change  of  parts,  there  being  only  a  few  actors  in  any  play, 
i^schylus'  plays  were  nearly  all  handled  by  only  two  actors. 
Sophocles  was  the  first  to  introduce  a  third. 

As  to  the  themes,  these  were  taken  mostly  from  the  old  hero 
stories  dear  to  the  Greek  race.  Thus  the  audience,  though  without 
program  or  text  and  without  scener}^  to  help  the  imagination,  could 
anticipate  in  general  the  development  of  the  plot  and  give  them- 
selves up  to  the  play  as  a  work  of  art.  It  was  left,  in  other  words, 
to  the  genius  of  the  tragic  poet  to  handle  a  well-worn  theme  in 
such  ajiew^and  effective  way  as  tojwin  the  prizeT^Thewords  of  the 
actors  would  commonly  explain  the  place  of  the  action.  Night 
scenes,  scenes  within  doors,  city  scenes,  country  scenes,  were  all 
represented  in  one  open  place  under  the  bright  Athenian  sky,  and 
with  no  change  of  scenery.  The  chorus  of  a  Greek  play  was  ap- 
propriate to  the  action  and  shared  to  some  extent  the  development 
of  the  plot.  Nothing  definite  is  known  of  the  nature  of  the  dances 
and  the  character  of  the  singing  and  the  accompaniment. 


GREEK  LITERATURE  85 

JEschylus.  The  first  of  the  great  tragic  poets  was  born  in  525 
B.C.  He  fought  at  Marathon  and  at  three  other  battles  during  the 
Persian  wars.  One  may  well  believe  that  he  was  a  mighty  fighter, 
for  there  is  something  of  titanic  energy  and  unrestrained  power  in 
all  his  tragedies.  His  conceptions  are  bold.  His  sense  of  sin  and 
of  the  weight  of  the  moral  law  reminds  us  of  the  prophets  of  Israel. 
When  Clayton  Hamilton  said  that  Greek  tragedy  represented  a 
conflict  between  man  and  fate,  he  perhaps  had  ^schylus  particu- 
larly in  view.  i^schylusTield  that  even  when  a  man  had  offended 
involuntarily,  the  evil  consequences  were  certain.  His  plays  are 
rough-hewn,  presenting  types  rather  than  detailed  studies  of  char- 
acter. We  have  the  titles  of  seventy-two  plays  produced  by  him, 
but  only  seven  of  these  plays  have  come  down  to  us.  "The  Per- 
sians'' was  presented  eight  years  after  the  battle  of  Salamis.  It  is 
the  only  historical  Greek  tragedy  extant.  The  scene  is  laid  in  Susa, 
and  the  chorus  consists  of  Persian  elders.  The  tragic  moment  is  the 
announcement  of  the  Persian  defeat  at  Salamis,  and  the  theme  is  the 
jealousy  of  the  gods  because  of  the  arrogance  of  men.  Another  play, 
"The  Suppliants,"  apparently  a  very  early  work,  exhibits  Zeus  as 
the  avenger  of  sacrilegious  violence.  "The  Seven  against  Thebes" 
is  concerned  with  an  episode  in  an  old  myth,  the  story  of  Qildipus. 
The  family^  curse  is  represented  as  descending  from  father  to 
son,  but  the  sin  of  the  individual  is  also  clearly  shown.  "Prome- 
theus" likewise  is  based  on  an  ancient  story.  The  conception  is 
extremely  bold.    Zeus  himself  learns  wisdom  from  experience. 

Following  custom  ^schylus  presented  four  plays  in  succession  on 
a  single  theme,  three  forming  a  trilogy  and  the  fourth  being  a  satyr 
play  as  a  sort  of  light  epilogue.  We  have  fortunately  preserved  to 
us  his  complete  trilogy  on  the  story  of  Orestes — "Agamemnon," 
"Choephori"  (or  the  "Libation-Bearers"),  and  "The  Eumenides." 
In  its  original  form  it  is  a  horrible  tale  of  murder  and  revenge, 
i^schylus  works  it  over  into  great  tragedy.  In  the  first  play 
Agamemnon  returns  from  Troy  in  triumph,  only  to  be  treacherously 
slain  by  his  wife  Clytemnestra ;  in  the  second,  Orestes,  his  son, 
avenges  the  murder  by  killing  Clytemnestra;  while  in  the  third, 
Orestes,  pursued  by  the  Furies  for  his  act  of  blood,  is  saved  only 


86  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

by  the  vote  of  Athene  at  the  conclusion  of  a  solemn  trial.  The 
"Agamemnon"  is  generally  reckoned  as  the  greatest  of  the  trag- 
edies of  /I*:schylus.  Its  grandeur  must  be  apparent  to  every  lover 
of  literature. 

The  scene  is  laid  in  front  of  the  royal  palace  at  Argos.  Clytemnestra, 
the  guilty  queen — a  great  tragic  figure  that  suggests  Lady  Macbeth  at 
several  points — has  arranged  for  signal  fire:  to  herald  the  return  of  her 
lord  Agamemnon  from  Troy.  At  the  opening  of  the  play  a  watchman, 
who  has  been  keeping  vigil  for  a  year,  prays  to  the  gods  for  relief. 
The  signal  appears,  and  he  leaves  to  inform  the  queen,  while  a  chorus 
of  Argive  elders  tells  the  story  of  the  Trojan  War  and  the  disasters 
which  have  befallen  Trojans  and  Greeks  alike. 

"For  Mars  doth  market  bodies,  and  for  gold 
Gives  dust,  and  in  the  battle  of  the  bold 

Holds  the  dread  scales  of  Fate. 
Burnt  cinders,  a  light  burden,  but  to  friends 

A  heavy  freight, 
He  sends  from  Troy;  the  beautiful  vase  he  sends 
With  dust,  for  hearts,  well  lined,  on  which  descends 

The  frequent  tear."^ 

Clytemnestra  enters  to  explain  to  the  chorus  hypocritically  the  rea- 
son for  the  sacrificial  fires.  A  herald,  returning  from  Troy,  tells  as  an 
eyewitness  of  the  destruction  of  the  city,  and  in  response  to  the  eager 
questions  of  the  chorus,  recounts  also  the  losses  of  the  Greeks.  The 
choral  hymn  that  follows,  one  of  great  beauty,  condemns  Helen  for  the 
calamity  she  has  brought  upon  Greece.  Now  Agamemnon  appears  in 
a  triumphal  car.  with  the  prophetess-princess  Cassandra,  his  captive  and 
concubine,  by  his  sitie.  Clytemnestra  greets  him,  and  prevails  upon  him 
to  enter  the  palace  by  treading  across  a  garment  of  purple.  The  chorus 
and  the  audience  alike  are  full  of  forebodings.  Agamemnon  had  sacri- 
ficed his  daughter  Iphigenia  before  sailing  for  Troy,  had  brought  back 
Cassandra  destined  as  a  priestess  to  Apollo,  and  now  had  stepped  upon 
the  purple  sacred  to  the  gods.    The  chorus  sings : 

"But  now,  to  doubt  resigned, 
With  smothered  fear,  all  dumb  I  wait 
The  unravelling  hour;  while  sparks  of  fate 
Flit  through  my  darksome  mind." 

1  Translation  by  Blackie. 


GREEK  LITERATURE  87 

Clytemnestra  reenters  to  attempt  to  lure  Cassandra  within.  But  Cas- 
sandra remains  silent.  Left  alone  she  breaks  forth  into  a  sort  of  pro- 
phetic fury.  We  learn  of  the  evils  of  the  house  of  Atreus,  of  the 
impending  doom  of  Agamemnon,  and  of  the  future  deed  of  Orestes  : 

"The  wanderer  shall  return 
To  pile  the  cope-stone  on  these  towering  woes. 
The  gods  in  heaven  a  mighty  oath  have  sworn, 
To  raise  anew  the  father's  prostrate  fate 
By  the  son's  arm." 

Cassandra  rushes  within  to  meet  her  own  fate.  The  groans  of  the  dying 
king  are  heard.  Presently  the  palace  opens,  and  Clytemnestra  is  dis- 
closed over  the  dead  body  of  her  husband.  Remorseless  and  cruel,  she 
justifies  her  bloody  deed  : 

"What  I  did,  I  did 
Not  with  a  random  inconsiderate  blow 
But  from  old  Hate,  and  with  maturing  Time." 

Later  ^gisthus,  her  paramour,  similarly  justifies  himself  for  his  share 
in  the  murder.  The  conflicting  emotions  on  the  part  of  the  chorus, 
which  remains  loyal  to  the  murdered  king,  are  finely  portrayed.  The 
first  play  of  the  trilogy  ends  with  wrong  in  the  ascendancy,  but  with 
the  continuation  of  the  story  comes  vengeance. 

A  careful  study  of  this  tragedy,  in  conjunction  with  a  Shakespearean 
tragedy  such  as  "Macbeth,"  is  full  of  interest  and  significance. 

Sophocles.  The  second,  and  in  the  common  opinion  the  fore- 
most, of  the  three  great  tragic  poets  of  Greece  was  born  at  Colonus, 
near  Athens,  in  496  or  495  and  died  in  406  b.c.  His  life  spanned, 
therefore,  the  greatest  period  of  Greek  history;  he  fortunately  did 
not  live  to  see  the  capture  of  Athens.  As  a  youth  of  fifteen  he  led  the 
choral  dance  celebrating  the  Persian  defeat  at  Salamis.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-seven  he  produced  his  first  play,  and  during  his  long 
career  he  w^as  always  first  or  second  of  the  three  competing  drama- 
tists. According  to  all  accounts  his  temper  was  amiable  and  his  life 
serene.  Of  the  hundred  or  more  of  his  plays  only  seven  have  been 
preserved  complete.  There  are.  however,  fragments  of  many  others. 
If  we  turn  our  attention  to  these  fragments  (Plumptre's  trans- 
lation), we  find  quite  clearly  displayed  Sophocles'  general  attitude 
toward  life: 


88  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"In  some  things  be  not  anxious  to  inquire; 
Far  l)cttcr  is  it  oft  to  leave  them  hid." 

"It  l)rings  some  pain,  I  know,  but  one  must  try, 
As  best  one  may,  to  bear  the  ills  of  life." 

"No  good  e'er  comes  of  leisure  purposeless ; 
And  Heaven  ne'er  helps  the  men  who  will  not  act." 

'"Tis  better  not  to  be  than  vilely  live." 

"None  but  the  Gods  may  live  untouched  by  ill." 

f  "'Tis  hope  that  feeds  the  larger  half  of  men." 

"Life,  0  my  son,  is  sweetest  boon  of  all : 
It  is  not  given  to  men  to  taste  death  twice." 

In  Matthew  Arnold's  phrase  Sophocles  ''saw  life  steadily,  and  saw 
it  whole."  Mackail  thus  sets  forth  the  controlling  thought  of 
Sophocles'  chief  plays : 

"The  final  note  in  '(Edipus  the  King'  is,  'Human  life,  even  in  its 
utmost  strength  and  splendor,  hangs  on  the  edge  of  the  abyss  ! '  In  the 
'CEdipus  at  Colonus'  it  is,  'Let  lamentation  be  brief,  for  what  has  hap- 
pened was  ordained.'  In  the  'Antigone'  it  is,  'Lack  of  wisdom  is  the 
greatest  of  evils.'  In  the  'Ajax'  it  goes  still  deeper:  it  is  the  necessity 
of  tragedy  for  the  purpose  of  life ;  men  must  see,  must  have  actual  ex- 
perience, in  order  to  know.  Finally,  in  the  'Trachinians'  it  takes  shape 
in  what  is  the  ultimate  and  central  message  of  Sophocles,  his  last  word 
on  life,  'Look,  and  wonder,  and  think.'" 

The  same  writer  says  of  the  "Electra,"  "Nowhere  in  Sophocles, 
nowhere  perhaps  in  poetry,  is  there  a  greater  sense  conveyed  of 
the  victoriousness  of  life,  of  the  way  in  which  it  rises  anew  over  its 
own  dead  past  and  lets  old  sins  and  sorrows  fade  away  among  for- 
gotten things." 

Few  works  in  all  literature  are  as  magnificent  as  Sophocles' 
"Antigone"  or  "(Edipus  the  King."  Let  us  examine  briefly  the 
second  of  these  plays.  We  see  at  once  the  advance  in  technical  and 
artistic  skill  over  ^schylus,  who  was  by  thirty  years  the  senior 
of  Sophocles.  The  younger  dramatist  is  swift  and  certain  and  clear. 


GREEK  LITERATURE  89 

He  tells  a  story  powerfully ;  he  keeps  the  plot  well  in  hand.  The 
dialogue  and  action  are  the  main  considerations — the  chorus  is 
strictly  subordinate.  The  theme  does  not  seem  remote ;  recent  pres- 
entations of  the  play  have  been  strikingly  successful.  (Edipus  in 
his  pride  and  (Edipus  in  his  crowning  misery, 

"Now  seeing  all  things  clear,  then  all  things  dark," 

is  as  close  to  us  and  as  understandable  as  King  Lear.  The  choral 
odes  are  singularly  effective ;  as,  for  example, 

"Ah,  race  of  mortal  men, 
How  as  a  thing  of  nought 
I  count  ye,  though  ye  live  ; 
For  who  is  there  of  men 
That  more  of  blessing  knows, 
Than  just  a  little  while 
To  seem  to  prosper  well, 
And,  having  seemed,  to  fall?"'- 

The  tragic  sadness  of  (Edipus  at  the  climax  of  his  grief  is  almost 
too  piercing.  Blinded  by  his  own  act,  he  exclaims, 

"What  need  for  me  to  see, 
WTien  nothing's  left  for  me  to  look  upon?" 

At  the  close  Sophocles  himself  speaks  in  the  words  of  the  chorus: 

"From  hence  the  lesson  learn  ye, 
To  reckon  no  man  happy  till  ye  witness 
The  closing  day  :  until  he  pass  the  border 
Which  severs  life  from  death,  unscathed  by  sorrow." 

Yet  this  is  not,  after  all,  the  last  word,  for  Sophocles  in  his  own 
closing  days  wrote  "(Edipus  at  Colonus,"  a  poem  of  rare  beauty, 
exhibiting  the  blind  king  purified  by  his  tragic  sufferings  and  recon- 
ciled to  his  Maker. 

"The  man  was  led 
With  nought  to  mourn  for — did  not  leave  the  world 
As  worn  with  pain  and  sickness  ;  but  his  end, 
If  any  ever  was,  was  wonderful." 

1  Translation  by  Plumptre. 


90 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


Euripides.  The  last  of  the  great  Greek  tragedians  was  born  in 
480  B.C..  on  the  very  day,  it  is  said,  of  the  battle  of  Salamis. 
He  was  thus  only  fifteen  years  younger  than  Sophocles,  but  he 
seems  to  belong  to  a  different  era.  The  old  piety  that  swayed  both 
i^scKylus  and  Sophocles  was  passing,  and  Euripides  was  a  good 
deal  of  a  rationalist  in  his  way  of  thinking.    He  became  a  poet^of 

ideas.  Living  largely  the  life  of^ 
recluse,  and  in  his  last  years,  until 
his  death  in  406,  in  voluntary  exile 
in  Macedonia,  he  was  not  popular 
with  his  generation.  While  he 
wrote  at  least  seventy-five  plays, 
only  five  secured  the  first  prize. 
Ancient  and  modern  critics  have 
found  much  to  condemn  in  his 
poetry,  his  method,  and  his  moral 
ideas.  His  prologues  are  ridiculed 
as  undramatic,  his  epilogues  as 
half-hearted  in  their  adjustments, 
his  choruses  as  being  unnecessary 
adjuncts  to  the  action. 

Yet  Euripides,  like  Moliere  and 
Shakespeare,  is  modern,  human, 
and  penetrating.  Thegeneral  form 
of  the  play  meant  less  to  him  than  the  individual  situation,  and  this 
is  very  frequently  pathetic  and  of  deep  and  thrilling  interest.  He 
could  not  free  himself  altogether  from  the  Greek  dramatic  conven- 
tions, but  he  was  a  man  of  the  new  school,  open  to  the  influences  of 
a  new  day,  an  interpreter  of  that  vigorous,  inquiring  mind  of  the 
Greek  in  his  greatest  period.  Hence  Euripides  will  always  attract 
us  powerfully. 

Eighteen  of  his  plays  remain.  They  deal  in  part  with  the  stock 
subjects  of  the  Athenian  drama ;  in  part  the  poet  goes  into  the  by- 
paths of  Greek  story  and  legend.  In  his  "Medea"  he  presents  a 
cruel  and  barbarous  woman  in  such  a  manner  as  to  lift  her  to  the 
very  heights .ojLtragedy.  In  the  "Trojan  Women"  we  are  brought 


EURIPIDES 


GREEK  LITERATURE  91 

very  close  to  Hecuba,  Andromache,  and  Cassandra  at  the  crisis  in 
their  heroic  experiences.  In  the  ^'Alcestis"  Euripides  gives  us  a 
wonderful  portrayal  of  simple,  gentle,  and  self-sacrificing  woman- 
hood. The  ^'Iphigenia"  is  clearly  one  of  the  best  of  all  the  plays 
dealing  with  the  story  of  Orestes.  Xo  one  can  read  the  "Bacchae" 
without  appreciating  that  it  is  a  magnificent  poem,  at  the  very 
heart  of  Greek  myth  and  the  Greek  love  of  beauty. 

But  it  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate  others  of  these  plays — so 
delicate,  so  full  of  dramatic  situations,  so  poetic,  and  at  many  points 
so  romantic  in  their  impulse.  The  English  reader  fortunately  has 
open  to  him  notable  translations  of  the  major  plays  of  Euripides. 
Those  of  Gilbert  ^lurray  are  the  most  conspicuous.  Few  trans- 
lations of  any  foreign  literature  have  been  done  so  sympathetically 
and  happily.  They  should  be  known  by  every  lover  of  literature. 
Mark  the  felicity  of  the  following  lines  from  the  maiden's  song  to 
Dionysus  in  the  "Bacchae"  : 

"In  the  elm-woods  and  the  oaken, 
There  where  Orpheus  harped  of  old, 
And  the  trees  awoke  and  knew  him, 
And  the  wild  things  gathered  to  him. 
As  he  sang  among  the  broken 
Glens  his  music  manifold." 

Or  note  this  bit  of  philosophy  from  the  choral  song  which  closes  the 
same  play : 

"There  be  many  shapes  of  mystery. 
And  many  things  God  makes  to  be, 

Past  hope  or  fear. 
And  the  end  men  looked  for  comcth  not, 
And  a  pain  is  there  where  no  man  thought. 

So  hath  it  fallen  here." 

Again,  observe  the  simple  pathos  of  this  passage  from  the  "Trojan 
Women" — Andromache's  farewell  to  her  child,  who  is  about  to  be 
cruelly  murdered  by  the  Greeks : 

"Thou  little  thing 
That  curlest  in  my  arms,  what  sweet  scents  cline 


92  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

All  round  thy  neck  !     Beloved,  can  it  be 

All  nothing,  that  this  bosom  cradled  thee 

And  fostered ;  all  the  weary  nights,  wherethrough 

I  watched  upon  thy  sickness,  till  I  grew 

Wasted  with  watching?    Kiss  me.    This  one  time; 

Not  ever  again.  .  .  . 
"Oh,  ye  have  found  an  anguish  that  outstrips 

All'  tortures  of  the  East,  ye  gentle  Greeks  I 

Why  will  ye  slay  this  innocent,  that  seeks 

No  wrong?" 
Greek  comedy  was  probably  as  old  as  tragedy  and  was  a  result 
of  the  same  general  impulse.  The  more  serious  songs  and  ideas  of 
the  Dionysian  festivals  were  developed  into  the  Greek  tragedy ;  in 
due  course  of  time  the  lightsome  and  burlesque  elements  took  artis- 
tic shape  and  were  developed  into  comedy.  The  Old  Comedy,  so 
called,  was  at  its  highest  point  in  the  period  from  460  to  404  b.c, 
and  its  chief  representative  is  Aristophanes.  IMenander  is  the  best- 
known  poet  of  the  New  Comedy,  which  flourished  from  320  to 
25P  B.C. 

The  proper  aim  of  comedy  was  an  unsparing  criticism  of  the  life 
of  the  times.  Satire,  banter,  burlesque,  riotous  humor,  extrava- 
gance of  all  kinds,  a  licentious  spirit,  and  grossness  of  allusion, — all 
these  found  their  place  in  Greek  comedy.  It  was  designed  to  casti- 
gate and  to  amuse.  Leading  citizens  were  impaled  for  the  public 
delectation.  There  seemed  to  be  no  limitations,  no  reserve  or  deli- 
cacy. In  trying  to  arrive  at  an  understanding  of  the  Greek  nature 
we  must  not  fail  to  take  into  account  the  unrestrained  license  of 
expression  belonging  to  the  public  presentation  of  the  plays  of  Old 
and  New  Comedy. 

What  has  been  said  of  comedy  in  general  applies  to  the  work  of 
Aristophanes  (r.45o-c.38o  b.c).  But  it  should  be  pointed  out 
that  this  comic  writer,  along  with  burlesque  and  buffoonery,  ex- 
hibited profound  scorn  and  indignation,  and  that  his  serious  pur- 
pose was  to  sway  public  opinion  and  to  remedy  the  abuses  of  the 
day.  He  was  a  conservative  by  nature  and  had  little  sympathy  with 
some  of  the  tendencies  of  his  time.  His  poetic  power  is  very  re- 
markable, for  his  verse  is  easy,  graceful,  and  harmonious,  always 


GREEK  LITERATURE  93 

suited  to  the  subject — short  and  vivid,  joyous,  audacious,  as  the 
case  may  be.  He  has  a  suitable  rhythm  for  marching  and  for 
chanting,  appropriate  verse  for  parody — a  bewildering  profusion  of 
forms  and  meters.  His  feeling  for  nature, — sea  and  sky  and  cloud 
and  earth, — for  imaginative  and  fantastic  effects,  is  inimitable. 
Thus  he  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  great  poets  of  Greece. 

The  plays  of  Aristophanes  cover  a  wide  range.  In  all  they  num- 
bered about  fifty ;  eleven  have  come  down  to  us.  Choruses  of 
wasps,  birds,  and  frogs  suggest  the  unconventional  elements  in  his 
plays.  The  dialogues  are  sometimes  broadly  farcical  and  the  scenes 
comic  to  a  degree,  ranging  from  a  scene  on  Olympus  or  in  Hades  to 
the  stealing  of  a  Sicilian  cheese  by  a  common  house  dog. 

Among  Aristophanes'  best-known  comedies  are  "The  Qouds," 
"The  Birds,"  and  "The  Frogs."  In  the  first  of  these  the  poet  casti- 
gates the  thinkers  and  teachers  of  his  day,  Socrates  in  particular. 
An  Athenian  gentleman  is  represented  as  entering  his  son  in  the 
"thinking-shop"  of  Socrates  in  order  that  he  may  learn,  through 
the  sophistry  of  the  philosopher,  how  to  escape  paying  his  debts. 
The  situations  that  arise  are  ludicrous.  It  is  said  that  on  the  public 
presentation  of  this  play  Socrates  himself  stood  up  in  his  place  in 
the  theater  that  he  might  be  seen  by  all.  In  "The  Birds"  Aristoph- 
anes ridicules,  with  delicate  satire,  the  ambitions  of  the  Athenians 
in  their  expedition  against  Syracuse.  The  fanciful  birdland  of  the 
play  signifies  the  sort  of  immaterial  dreams  or  castles  in  the  air  that 
men  are  wont  to  create  in  the  face  of  established  facts  and  common 
sense.  With  true  art  Aristophanes  conducts  us  to  the  home  of  the 
birds  and  presents  the  world,  including  the  pettiness  of  mankind, 
from  their  point  of  view.  The  choric  songs  of  the  play  are  very 
beautiful.  In  "The  Frogs"  the  god  Dionysus  descends  to  Hades  to 
bring  back  a  poet,  since  Athens  has  lost  through  death  ^schylus, 
Sophocles,  and  Euripides.  The  characters  include  an  overworked 
porter,  a  landlady,  a  maidservant,  a  corpse,  and  two  choruses — one 
of  initiated  persons  and  the  other  of  frogs,  which  is  sung  behind  the 
scenes.  In  the  underworld,  after  a  contest  for  the  throne  of  trag- 
edy, the  award  is  given  to  ^schylus.  Songs  and  lyrics  distinguish 
this  play  and  indeed  all  the  plays  of  Aristophanes. 


94  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Greek  Prose  of  the  Attic  Age 

The  essence  of  Greek  culture  was,  as  we  have  seen,  poetic — first 
epic,  then  lyric,  then  dramatic.  Greek  prose  was  a  later  growth,  an 
expression  of  the  contact  of  the  Greeks  with  the  outside  world.  The 
chief  names  to  be  remembered  as  Attic  prose  writers  are,  among 
historians,  Herodotus,  Thucydides,  and  Xenophon ;  among  orators, 
Demosthenes ;  among  philosophers,  Plato  and  Aristotle.  There  are 
other  distinguished  names,  but  it  is  manifest  that  in  our  narrow 
limits  they  cannot  be  discussed. 

Herodotus  (C.484-C.  425B.C.).  "The  father  of  history,"  as 
Herodotus  has  been  affectionately  called,  was  born  in  Asia  Minor, 
and  until  he  was  thirty-five  years  of  age  was  a  subject  of  Persia.  At 
the  height  of  the  Age  of  Pericles  he  made  his  home  in  Athens.  He  be- 
came an  intimate  of  Sophocles.  He  was  essentially  a  student.  He  was 
also  a  great  traveler,  for  in  his  early  days  he  is  reputed  to  have 
covered  no  less  than  seventeen  hundred  miles,  journeying  as  far  as 
Susa  and  Babylon,  to  the  northern  limits  of  Thrace,  to  Gaza  in 
Palestine,  to  Egypt  and  the  First  Cataract  of  the  Nile.  He  was  a 
close  observer,  and  he  recorded  accurately  the  things  of  which  he 
had  personal  knowledge,  though  displaying  credulity  and  careless- 
ness in  more  remote  matters.  While  not  a  historian  in  the  modern 
sense, — since  his  thought  is  loose,  his  insight  into  cause  and  effect 
poor,  and  his  interest  in  political  institutions  slight, — yet  he  is  al- 
ways picturesque  and  entertaining,  his  descriptions  are  vivid,  his 
anecdotes  are  apt,  and  natural  and  social  features  take  an  interesting 
place  in  his  narrative.  There  are  nine  books  in  his  history.  The 
first  six  are  introductory,  giving  the  early  history  of  Greece  and 
Persia,  with  many  subsidiary  details  in  world  history ;  the  last  three 
describe  the  Persian  war  against  Greece.  His  general  theme  is  thus 
the  struggle  between  Greece  and  Asia.  There  is  a  certain  epic 
grandeur  or  unity  in  his  work :  he  looks  upon  the  failure  of  Persia 
as  a  sort  of  divine  judgment — "The  god  loves  to  cut  do\\Ti  all 
towering  things." 

Open  the  history  of  Herodotus  at  any  point.  The  reader  is  im- 
pressed with  the  interest  and  raciness  of  the  style.  Myth  and  legend 


GREEK  LITERATURE 


95 


find  their  place  by  the  side  of  history.  Hundreds  of  anecdotes 
crowd  upon  one.  Note,  for  example^  the  story  of  Cypselus,  as  given 
in  Book  V.  The  oracle  at  Delphi  had  proclaimed  that  Labda  the 
wife  of  Eetion  would  give  birth  to  a  son  who  should  become  tyrant 
of  Corinth.  After  the  child  was  born  ten  men  were  sent  to  Eetion's 
house  with  orders  to  make  way  with  the  infant. 

"When  they  arrived  at  Petra,  and  entered  the  court  of  Eetion,  they 
asked  for  the  child;  but  Labda,  knowing  nothing  of  the  purpose  for 
which  they  had  come,  and  supposing  that  they 
asked  for  it  out  of  affection  for  the  father,  brought 
the  child,  and  put  it  into  the  hands  of  one  of 
them.  Now,  it  had  been  determined  by  them  on 
the  way  that  whichever  of  them  should  first  re- 
ceive the  child  should  dash  it  on  the  ground. 
When,  however,  Labda  brought  and  gave  it  to  one 
of  them,  the  child,  by  a  divine  providence,  smiled 
on  the  man  who  received  it ;  and  when  he  per- 
ceived this,  a  feeling  of  pity  restrained  him  from 
killing  it ;  and,  moved  by  compassion,  he  gave  it 
to  the  second,  and  he  to  the  third ;  thus  the  in- 
fant, being  handed  from  one  to  another,  passed 
through  the  hands  of  all  the  ten,  and  not  one  of 
them  was  willing  to  destroy  it.  Having  therefore 
delivered  the  child  again  to  its  mother,  and  gone  out,  they  stood  at  the 
door,  and  attacked  each  other  with  mutual  recriminations."^ 

The  result  was  that  the  child  was  hidden  in  a  corn  bin  and  lived  to 
be  ruler  of  Corinth. 

Thucydides  (c.  471-c.  400  B.C.).  The  great  work  of  Thucydides 
was  his  "History  of  the  Peloponnesian  War."  He  described  it  as  an 
eyewitness.  Indeed,  he  was  a  participant,  for  in  424  b.  c.  he  was  in 
command  of  a  fleet  of  Athenian  ships  which  met  with  disaster  at  the 
hands  of  the  Spartans.  As  a  consequence  he  lived  in  exile  for  twenty 
j'ears.  The  "History"  of  Thucydides  is  in  eight  books,  the  last  of 
which  breaks  off  abruptly  in  the  middle  of  a  chapter  describing  the 
events  of  the  year  411.  As  a  historian  he  is  a  great  distance 
removed  from  Herodotus.  He  is  more  logical  and  intellectual 
1  Translation  by  Henry  Cary. 


HERODOTUS 


96  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

and  more  of  a  thinker ;  he  is  less  interested  in  divine  than  he  is 
in  human  agencies  in  history.  Thucydides  selected  the  Pelopon- 
ncsian  War  as  his  theme,  since  he  deemed  it  the  greatest  event  that 
had  affected  all  Greece,  and  since  he  could  write  as  a  contemporary. 
As  the  first  scientific  historian,  he  seeks  the  essential  causes  of 
events ;  he  writes  with  perfect  dispassionateness.  Oratory  appeals 
to  him ;  hence  his  history  introduces  many  set  speeches  delivered 
by  historical  personages.  Of  the  numerous  vivid  passages  the  best 
known,  perhaps,  are  Pericles'  funeral  oration  and  the  descriptions 
of  the  plague  at  Athens  in  430  b.  c.  and  of  the  ill-fated  expedition 
against  Sicily  in  413. 

Xenophon  (C.430-C.357  B.C.).  The  third  of  the  leading  Greek 
historians  was  a  man  of  practical  bent  and  of  active  life.  In  his 
youth  he  knew  Socrates,  and  in  due  time  wrote  the  "Memorabilia," 
a  work  in  defense  of  the  great  master.  In  the  year  401  he  joined 
an  e.xpedition  of  Greeks  into  the  interior  of  Persia.  It  was  led 
by  Cyrus  the  Younger  against  his  brother  the  Persian  king.  Xeno- 
phon describes  in  the  "Anabasis"  the  experiences  of  the  Greeks  in 
company  with  Cyrus,  and  their  retreat,  after  Cyrus's  death,  one 
thousand  miles  to  the  Black  Sea.  It  is  the  best  of  the  works  of  Xeno- 
phon, a  splendid  example  of  a  story  told  in  a  clear  and  fascinating 
manner.  Xenophon,  on  his  return  from  Asia,  continued  his  military 
career.  Embittered  against  Athens,  he  fought  on  the  side  of  Sparta. 
In  his  "Hellenica"  he  presented  a  history  of  Greece  from  411  to 
362  B.C.,  supplementing  the  history  of  Thucydides.  The  work  does 
not,  however,  have  the  philosophical  grasp  or  the  impartiality  dis- 
played by  his  predecessor.  Xenophon  is  reputed  to  have  closed  his 
life  at  Corinth.  Of  his  various  other  WTitings  none  have  the  impor- 
tance of  those  already  named. 

Greek  oratory.  In  the  matter  of  oratory  the  Greeks  exhibited 
the  same  artistic  impulse  as  in  other  fields  of  literature.  Greek  audi- 
ences listened  critically  to  a  speech  of  Lysias,  ^schines,  Pericles, 
Isocrates.  or  Demosthenes  and  appraised  it  as  they  would  a  tragedy 
of  Sophocles.  Professor  Jebb  points  out  two  chief  influences  in  the 
development  of  spoken  Attic  prose  style— that  of  the  Sophists,  the 
teachers  of  learning  or  wisdom,  and  that  of  the  Sicilian  rhetoric, 


GREEK  LITERATURE  97 

the  product  of  the  quick  and  bright  Sicilian  people.  Oratory  is  an 
art,  and  in  Greece  it  advanced  steadily  until  it  reached  its  perfec- 
tion under  Demosthenes. 

Demosthenes  (c.  384-322  B.C.).  Demosthenes  was  both  orator 
and  statesman.  His  early  struggles,  his  determination  to  succeed, 
his  increase  in  power,  and  his  final  mastery  make  an  interesting 
chapter  in  human  history.  The  Greek  language  was  a  perfect  in- 
strument for  the  expression  of  his  ideas.  The  orations  of  Demos- 
thenes show  vigor,  variety,  persuasiveness,  and  native  eloquence. 
Of  his  various  speeches  that  have  come  down  to  us,  the  ''Phi- 
lippics," or  the  nine  orations  against  Philip,  and  his  speech  "On  the 
Crown"  are  the  most  important.  The  Macedonian  menace  loomed 
before  Demosthenes.  All  the  power  he  possessed  was  exerted  to 
persuade  Athens  of  her  danger  and  to  rouse  her  to  action,  lest  the 
barbarian  world  should  undermine  her  greatness.  It  was  a  losing 
battle ;  and  Demosthenes  himself,  it  will  be  recalled,  took  poison  to 
avoid  capture  by  the  Macedonians.  Symonds  writes  of  Demos- 
thenes: "His  orations  remain  as  the  monuments  of  a  valiant  but 
ineffectual  resistance.  The  old  intelligence  of  Athens  shines,  nay, 
fulminates,  in  these  tremendous  periods ;  but  it  is  no  longer  intelli- 
gence combined  with  power.  The  sceptre  of  empire  has  passed 
from  the  hands  of  the  Athenians." 

Plato  (c.  429-347  B.C.).  The  Dialogues  of  Plato — the  chief 
philosophic  writer  of  the  Greeks,  the  disciple  of  Socrates,  and  the  in- 
structor of  Aristotle — fill  five  bulky  volumes  in  Jowett's  English 
translation.  Their  field  is  philosophic  prose  rather  than  pure  litera- 
ture, but  their  style  is  remarkable  for  its  clarity  and  beauty  and 
frequently  for  its  poetic  and  dramatic  power.  Plato  was  only  thirty 
years  of  age  when  Socrates  was  put  to  death  ;  they  had  known  each 
other  for  ten  years.  The  Greeks  were  the  first  people  of  antiquity 
to  separate  philosophy  from  theology.  Socrates  sought  virtue  for  its 
own  sake  and  set  forth  the  principles  of  the  ethical  life.  He  seems 
to  us  to  be  in  many  respects  the  most  interesting  figure  among  the 
Greeks.  It  is  a  stain  upon  the  Greek  name  that  this  man,  despite 
his  ennobling  ideas  and  great  rectitude  of  life,  should  have  been 
condemned  to  death  on  a  charge  of  impiety  and  the  corruption  of 


98 


LI  TERAIURI-:  OF  THE  WORLD 


1^'% 


youth.  Plato  gives  us  as  faithful  a  picture  of  the  man  as  Boswell 
was  later  to  present  of  the  English  Johnson.  He  makes  Socrates  the 
leading  character  in  his  Dialogues.  The  dialogue  as  a  form  of  litera- 
ture has  remained  practically  unchanged  from  Plato's  day  to  our 
own.  It  may  be  termed  a  little  drama,  taking  place  in  one  scene  and 
without  theatrical  machinery.  La  Fontaine  praised  the  qualities  of 
Plato's  Dialogues — their  vivacity,  fidelity  of  tone,  and  accuracy  in 

the  opposition  of  opinions.  Thirty-five 
dialogues  are  attributed  to  Plato ;  of 
these  twenty-one  are  probably  genuine. 
Plato  sought  to  discover  and  to  master 
a  world  that  could  not  be  touched  and 
seen — a  world  of  ideas.  The  search  for 
virtue,  the  good,  wisdom,  the  essence 
of  love,  the  ideal  State,  God  as  the 

\'  ---•  -i-  author  of  good, — such  topics  are  the  re- 

curring themes  of  the  Dialogues.  There 
\     are  careful  analyses  of  the  conceptions 
\    of    friendship,    temperance,    courage, 
— knowledge.     The  meaning  of  certain 

PLATO  Greek  myths  is  beautifully  unfolded. 

Among  Plato's  best-known  Dialogues 
are  included  "Protagoras,"  "Phaedrus,"  ''Gorgias,"  "The  Re- 
public," "The  Symposium,"  "The  Apology  of  Socrates,"  "Crito," 
and  "Phaedo."  "The  Republic,"  unquestionably  a  great  work,  is 
"an  attempt,"  as  Grote  says,  "towards  anticipating  the  work  of 
future  generations."  Plato  tried  to  conceive  of  a  form  of  society 
where  the  ideal  man  might  live.  Considerations  of  justice  in  the 
case  of  the  State  and  in  the  individual ;  the  education  and  qualifica- 
tions of  rulers ;  the  dangers  of  the  life  of  tyranny, — these  and  other 
matters  receive  careful  attention  in  this  first  study  of  the  ideal 
commonwealth.  The  "Apology,"  "Crito,"  and  "Phaedo"  should  be 
read  in  succession  as  dealing  with  matters  concerning  the  trial 
and  death  of  Socrates.  The  closing  portion  of  the  "Phaedo"  is  one 
of  the  most  moving  passages  in  literature.  Plato  says  very  simply 
as  he  finishes  his  account,  "Such  was  the  end  of  our  friend,  whom 


GREEK  LITERATURE 


99 


I  may  truly  call  the  wisest,  and  justest,  and  best  of  all  the  men 
whom  I  have  ever  known." 

There  can  be  no  question  that  the  study  of  Plato  adds  to  our 
stock  of  ideas,  deepens  our  love  for  the  true  and  the  beautiful,  and 
throws  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  Greeks  in  their  greatest  era. 

Aristotle  (384-322  B.C.)-  "The  master  of  those  who  know,"  the 
most  influential  of  all  the  thinkers  of  Greece,  was  born  in  a  small 
Thracian  town.  He  was  a  pupil  of 
Plato  and  for  twenty  years  (from  his 
eighteenth  year  on)  was  closely  asso- 
ciated with  him.  He  became  the  tutor 
of  i\lexander  the  Great.  Returning  to 
Athens  in  334  b.c,  he  produced  the 
series  of  works  associated  with  his 
name  and  also  taught  publicly  in  the 
Lyceum.  One  hundred  years  after  his 
death  a  catalogue  of  his  writings,  nam- 
ing one  hundred  and  forty-six  works, 
was  prepared  at  Alexandria,  but  few 
of  these  have  come  down  to  us.  The 
writings  of  Aristotle  that  we  do  pos-  <rj 
sess  were  preserved  by  a  series  of  for- 
tunate incidents,  and  seem  to  be  the 
greatest  that  came  from  his  pen.  Aris-  aristotle 

totle  absorbed  the  learning  of  his  race 

and  worked  it  over  into  a  unified  system.  Until  the  development 
of  modern  scientific  ideas — in  other  words,  for  eighteen  hundred 
years — Aristotle's  ideas  were  the  basis  for  scientific  and  scholastic 
thought.  It  is  hard  to  calculate  what  his  influence  has  been  through 
the  ages.  His  works  were  literally  the  textbooks  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  Philosophy,  logic,  ethics,  politics,  and  the  science  of  life 
were  all  expounded  in  his  writings.  To  the  student  of  literature 
Aristotle's  "Poetics"  is  the  most  interesting  of  his  writings.  His 
discussion  of  the  epic  and  of  tragedy  in  this  work  is  justly  famous. 
Aristotle  analyzes  very  carefully  the  kinds  of  the  epic,  the  attitude 
of  the  poet  toward  his  story,  the  relative  worth  of  epic  and  tragic 


100  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

poetry,  and  other  matters  which  seem  of  great  interest  and  value 
even  in  our  own  day. 

The  creative  epoch  of  the  Greeks  reached  its  close  in  Aristotle's 
day ;  it  was  his  work  to  assemble  the  ideas  of  his  race  and  to  make 
personal  contributions  of  extraordinary  value. 

Later  Greek  Literature 

We  have  now  reached  the  decadent  period  of  the  literature  of  the 
Greeks,  but  we  must  not  fall  into  the  error  of  underrating  the  later 
product.  It  was  still  remarkably  rich  and  varied.  With  Alexander's 
death  and  the  division  of  his  empire  into  three  sections — Asia, 
Egypt,  and  Macedonia — the  Greek  civilization  was  widely  dis- 
tributed. For  centuries  it  dominated  the  thought  of  the  world. 
Hellenism  came  to  mean  the  civilization  (subsequent  to  the  death 
of  Ale.xander)  which  was  based  upon  the  Greek.  Alexandria,  in 
northern  Egypt,  became  the  great  new  center  for  Hellenistic  liter- 
ary activity ;  its  library,  according  to  tradition,  contained  seven 
hundred  thousand  manuscripts.  Pergamum  and  Rhodes  were  also 
important  Hellenistic  centers.  Greece  itself  and  the  Greek  posses- 
sions were  taken  over  politically  by  the  Romans  during  the  second 
and  first  centuries  before  Christ,  but  the  language  and  culture  of 
the  Greeks  prevailed.  The  language  has  never  ceased  to  be  writ- 
ten, even  to  the  present  day.  Most  literary  forms,  it  should  be  re- 
membered, originated  with  the  Greeks. 

Prose  writers.  Among  the  great  number  of  prose  authors  who 
continued  to  maintain  the  Greek  traditions  a  few  may  be  mentioned 
briefly.  Polybius  (204-132  b.c),  a  native  of  Arcadia,  had  an  ac- 
tive and  honorable  career  as  a  soldier  and  statesman.  Out  of  his 
observation  of  and  participation  in  Greek  and  Roman  wars  he  pro- 
duced a  history  of  his  own  times  which  shows  him  a  good  successor 
to  Herodotus  and  Thucydides.  Forty  books  made  up  his  history,  but, 
except  for  five  which  we  have  complete,  only  fragments  remain. 
Polybius  believed  in  a  destiny  controlling  the  affairs  of  men,  and  he 
endeavored  to  explain  that  it  was  no  accident  that  "all  the  known 
regions  of  the  civilized  world  had  fallen  under  the  sway  of  Rome." 


GREEK  LITERATURE  lOi 

This  is  the  underlying  purpose  of  his  work.  He  was  impartial,  criti- 
cal, and  painstaking,  and  his  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  era 
in  which  he  lived  has  always  been  considered  important. 

Plutarch  (a.d.  46-120)  wrote  in  Greek,  but  he  seems  to  be  asso- 
ciated in  our  minds  with  Latin  literature  rather  than  with  Greek. 
He  was  a  thoroughgoing  Greek,  born  in  Boeotia  and  educated  in 
Athens.  His  knowledge  of  Latin  was  far  from  complete,  but  his  in- 
terest in  Roman  affairs  was  keen,  and  he  was  a  trained  thinker  and 
writer.  His  works  were  varied.  Sixty  or  more  treatises,  designated 
as  "morals,"  dealt  with  subjects  historical,  ethical,  and  literary,  and 
are  of  special  interest  because  of  their  quotations  from  Greek 
classics  now  lost.  Plutarch's  ''Lives  of  Famous  Men"  have  made 
his  name  a  household  word.  The  lives  are  in  pairs,  twenty-three 
Greek  and  twenty-three  Roman — a  somewhat  artificial  plan.  He 
shows  more  skill  and  accurate  knowledge  in  his  presentation  of  the 
lives  of  Greeks.  His  erudition,  diligence,  and  other  qualities  entitle 
him  to  be  considered  one  of  the  chief  writers  of  the  ancient  world. 
If  Herodotus  was  the  father  of  history,  Plutarch  was  the  father  of' 
biography.  English-speaking  peoples  have  known  him  for  cen- 
turies. North's  vigorous  and  delightful  translation  was  used  by 
Shakespeare  as  the  foundation  of  his  Roman  historical  plays. 

Epictetus  was  born  in  Phrygia  about  a.d.  60.  He  was  deformed 
and  a  slave,  but  in  due  time  he  secured  his  freedom.  He  had  a  logi- 
cal mind  and  was  a  natural  teacher.  While  he  wrote  nothing  him- 
self, his  pupil  Arrianus  has  left  us  in  the  "Discourses  of  Epictetus" 
a  picture  of  his  master's  philosophy  and  ideas.  Three  centuries 
earlier  another  Greek,  Epicurus,  had  formulated  a  philosophy  which 
we  denominate  as  Epicureanism — a  philosophy  which  regards  pleas- 
ure as  the  end  of  human  action  and  as  the  most  important  thing  in 
life,  since  ultimate  pleasure  means  freedom.  Epictetus,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  one  of  the  exponents  of  Stoicism.  His  convictions  were 
set  forth  with  the  greatest  candor  and  lucidity.  Everything  in  life, 
he  conceived,  may  be  divided  into  two  classes — those  things  that 
are  within  our  control  and  those  that  are  not.  The  inward  life  is 
the  important  matter,  since  we  can  regulate  it  with  the  help  of  God ; 
external  events  are  of  less  consequence.    "If  you  always  remember 


102  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

that  God  stands  by  as  a  witness  of  whatever  you  do,  either  in  soul  or 
body,  you  will  never  err,  either  in  your  prayers  or  actions,  and  you 
will  have  God  abiding  with  you." 

Lucian  (a.d.  120-180)  was  born  in  a  town  in  northern  Syria.  He 
was  a  prose  Aristophanes,  witty,  satirical,  an  unsparing  critic.  His 
knowledge  of  Greek  was  profound ;  he  wrote  in  the  purest  Attic 
style.  A  large  number  of  his  genuine  writings  have  come  down  to 
us.  His  ordinary  form  is  the  dialogue.  An  analysis  of  his  pieces  re- 
veals a  genuine  humorist,  a  frank  unbeliever  in  the  gods  and  in  the 
systems  of  philosophy.  Since  the  days  of  the  Renaissance  Lucian 
has  been  widely  read.  Raphael  and  Diirer  have  illustrated  him. 
Walter  Pater  has  helped  to  make  him  known  to  English  readers. 

A  century  after  Lucian's  day  lived  the  celebrated  critic  Longinus, 
reputed  to  be  the  author  of  the  essay  "The  Sublime,"  a  famous 
critical  document. 

Late  poetry.  There  are  two  books  of  extraordinary  beauty  and 
charm  which  should  be  widely  known  by  those  who  love  the  good 
things  of  literature — "Theocritus,  Bion,  and  IMoschus  rendered 
into  English  prose,"  by  Andrew  Lang,  and  IMackail's  "Select  Epi- 
grams from  the  Greek  Anthology." 

The  idyl,  as  represented  by  Theocritus,  Bion,  and  Moschus,  is  a 
little  picture,  whether  concerned  with  country  or  city  life,  with 
legends,  or  with  personal  experience.  Theocritus  was  a  Syracusan 
who  lived  in  the  third  century  B.C.  His  later  life  was  spent  in 
Alexandria,  but  he  never  forgot  the  soft  air,  the  blue  sky,  or  the 
rustic  beauty  of  southern  Sicily,  and  his  pastoral  poetry  has  all  the 
freshness  of  the  earlier  day.  The  dialogues  of  rural  swains  discours- 
ing of  their  loves  must  have  seemed  as  remote  to  the  court  of  the 
Ptolemies  as  they  do  to  us.  Yet  the  poetic  ardor  of  Theocritus  had 
found  a  fitting  form  of  expression.  "Sweet,  meseems.  is  the  whis- 
pering of  yonder  pine  tree,  goatherd,  that  murmureth  by  the  wells 
of  water ;  and  sweet  are  thy  pipings" — this  is  the  enchanting  begin- 
ning of  the  first  idyl.  We  are  lured  on  insensibly  to  share  in  the 
fortunes  of  the  rustic  lovers.  Daphnis  sings,  "Sweet  is  the  voice  of 
the  heifer,  sweet  her  breath,  sweet  to  lie  beneath  the  sky  in  summer, 
by  running  water,"  and  we  are  fain  to  partake  of  his  simple  joys. 


GREEK  LITERATURE  103 

Of  Bion  we  know  little  except  that  his  birthplace  was  at  Smyrna. 
His  "Lament  for  Adonis"  is  a  beautiful  poem,  upon  which  the  Eng- 
lish poet  Shelley  modeled  his  "Adonais."  The  finest  of  the  idyls 
of  Moschus  is  his  lament  for  Bion,    How  exquisite  this  passage : 

"Ah  me,  when  the  mallows  wither  in  the  garden,  and  the  green  pars- 
ley, and  the  curled  tendrils  of  the  anise,  on  a  later  day  they  live  again, 
and  spring  in  another  year ;  but  we  men,  we,  the  ^reat  and  mighty,  or 
wise,  when  once  we  have  died,  in  hollow  earth  we  sleep,  gone  down 
into  silence ;  a  right  long,  and  endless,  and  unawakening  sleep." 

The  Greek  Anthology  consists  of  four  thousand  selections  made 
at  Constantinople,  partly  in  the  tenth  and  partly  in  the  fourteenth 
century.  Mackail  has  translated  five  hundred  of  these.  The  earliest 
of  the  poems,  as  he  points  out,  "date  from  700  B.C.,  and  they 
extend  from  that  time  almost  continuously  down  to  a.d.  1000. 
Throughout  all  that  period  they  present  little  or  no  change  in  lan- 
guage or  versification.  A  form  of  poetry  which  remained  alive  for 
seventeen  centuries  is  unique  in  literary  history,  and  bears  striking 
testimony  to  the  extraordinary  vitality  of  the  Greek  genius." 

Here  is  an  epitaph  from  Callimachus : 

"What  stranger,  0  shipwrecked  man?  Leontichus  found  me  here  a 
corpse  on  the  shore,  and  heaped  this  tomb  over  me,  with  tears  for  his 
own  calamitous  life :  for  neither  is  he  at  peace,  but  flits  like  a  gull  over 
the  sea." 

And  a  graceful  poem  on  a  wayside  god,  written  by  an  unknown 
author : 

"Go  and  rest  your  limbs  here  for  a  little  under  the  juniper,  0  way- 
farers, by  Hermes,  Guardian  of  the  Way,  not  in  crowds,  but  those  of 
you  whose  knees  are  tired  with  heavy  toil  and  thirst,  after  traversing  a 
long  road;  for  there  a  breeze  and  a  shady  seat  and  the  fountain  under 
the  rock  will  lull  your  toil-wearied  Umbs ;  and  having  so  escaped  the 
midday  breath  of  the  autumnal  dogstar,  pay  his  due  honour  to  Hermes 
of  the  Ways." 

And  this  on  Pandora's  box,  by  Macedonius: 

"I  laugh  as  I  look  on  the  jar  of  Pandora,  nor  do  I  blame  the  woman, 
but  the  wings  of  the  Blessings  themselves ;  for  they  flutter  through  the 


104  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

sky  over  the  abotlcs  of  all  the  earth,  while  they  ought  to  have  descended 
on  the  ground.  But  the  woman  behind  the  lid,  with  cheeks  grown  paUid, 
has  lost  the  splendour  of  the  beauties  that  she  had,  and  now  our  life  has 
missed  both  ways,  because  she  grows  old  in  it,  and  the  jar  is  empty." 

Reference  List 

Breasted.    Ancient  Times.    Ginn  and  Company. 

Baikie.    Sea  Kinps  of  Crete.    The  Macmillan  Company. 

Gayley.     Classic  Myths.     Ginn  and  Company. 

MAibU-FY.    Social  Life  of  the  Greeks.    The  Macmillan  Company. 

Dickinson.    Greek  View  of  Life.    Doubleday,  Page  &  Company. 

MiKRAY.    Ancient  Greek  Literature.    D.  Appleton  and  Company. 

Jebb.    Primer  of  Greek  Literature.    American  Book  Company. 

Cooper.    The  Greek  Genius  and  its  Influence.    Yak  University  Press. 

Mahaffy.    What  have  the  Greeks  Done  for  Modern  Civilization  ?    G.  P. 

Putnam's  Sons. 
Pater.    Greek  Studies.    The  Macmillan  Company. 
Wendell.   Traditions   of    European    Literature    from    Homer   to    Dante. 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Keller.    Homeric  Society.   Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 
Lang.    Homer  and  his  Age.    Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 
Leaf.   Homer  and  History.    The  Macmillan  Company. 
ScoTT.    The  Unity  of  Homer.    University  of  California  Press. 
Seymour.    Life  in  the  Homeric  .\ge.   The  ^lacmillan  Company. 
-Mackail.    Lectures  on  Greek  Poetry.    Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 
Symonds.    The  Greek  Poets  (2  vols.).    Harper  &  Brothers. 
Flickinger.    The  Greek  Theater  and  its  Drama.    University  of  Chicago 

Press. 
Lang.    Theocritus,  Bion,  and  Moschus.    The  Macmillan  Company. 
Mackail.   Select  Epigrams  from  the  Greek  Anthology.    Longmans,  Green 

&  Co. 
Loeb   Classical   Library  (many   volumes).    Send   to   G.   P.  Putnam's  Sons 

for  list. 
Bohn  Library  (a  number  of  volumes).    Send  to  Harcourt,  Brace  and  Com- 
pany for  list. 
Everyman's  Library  has  a  number  of  English  editions  of  Greek  classics. 

E.  P.  Dutton  &  Company. 
Translations  (various  publishers): 

Homer's  Iliad  (Lang,  Leaf,  and  Myers;  Brj'ant). 

Homer's  Odyssey  (Butcher  and  Lang;  Palmer). 

Hesiod  (Mair). 

.^^schylus  (Blackic). 

Sophocles  (Plumptre). 

Euripides  (Gilbert  Murray). 


GREEK  LITERATURE  10$ 


Aristophanes  (Rogers). 
Herodotus  (Rawlinson). 
Thucydides  (Crawley). 
Demosthenes  (Kennedy). 
Plato  (Jowett). 
Plutarch  (Long). 
Epictetus  (Long). 

Suggested  Topics 

The  contributions  of  the  Greeks  to  civilization. 

A  study  of  Homeric  times. 

Character  studies  from  Homer. 

The  similes  of  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey. 

The  travels  of  Ulysses. 

Poets  of  the  Greek  Lyric  Age. 

The  nature  of  the  Greek  subjects  for  tragedy. 

The  "Antigone"  of  Sophocles. 

Euripides'  "Trojan  Women." 

Comparison  of  the  three  great  Greek  tragedians. 

Ancient  and  modern  tragedy  —  a  contrast. 

Anecdotes  from  Herodotus. 

Socrates  and  Jesus — a  comparative  study, 

A  dialogue  from  Plato. 

The  philosophy  of  Epictetus. 

Theocritus,  Bion,  and  Moschus. 

The  Greek  Anthology. 


CHAPTER  V 
LATIN  LITERATURE 

The  study  of  the  Cireek  language,  in  our  modern  scheme  of 
education,  has  been  largely  set  aside,  but  the  study  of  Latin  still 
prevails.  The  structure  of  Latin  is  generally  understood,  and  its 
practical  value  (at  least  50  per  cent  of  our  English  speech  is  Latin 
in  origin)  is  widely  recognized.  Italian,  French,  and  Spanish  are 
even  more  definitely  allied  to  Latin.  Any  sort  of  liberal  training 
must  inevitably  include  the  study  of  the  Latin  language. 

When  we  use  the  term  "the  classics"  we  mean  the  literature  of 
Greece  and  Rome.  This  literature  in  many  respects  is  one,  and  the 
greater  part  is  Greek.  Intellectually  speaking,  the  classics  are  at  the 
very  basis  of  our  civilization.  A  familiarity  with  them  in  the  orig- 
inal languages  brings  great  enrichment  to  one's  culture,  thought, 
and  expression.  In  translation  they  shine  only  by  reflection,  but 
they  still  illuminate. 

Matters  of  history  and  language  as  related  to  literature. 
A  glance  at  the  map  of  Italy  will  establish  the  position  of  the  Alps 
as  the  northern  barrier,  the  location  of  the  rivers  Po,  Arno,  and 
Tiber,  the  site  of  Rome  and  Naples,  and  the  position  of  Italy  with 
reference  to  Greece.  In  the  early  historical  period  (1200  b.c.)  this 
peninsula  was  sparsely  inhabited  by  a  primitive  non-Aryan  people. 
Then  came  a  highly  cultivated  non-Aryan  people,  the  Etruscans, 
who  settled  in  the  north  and  occupied  the  land  from  the  Alps  to  the 
Tiber.  South  of  them  a  vigorous  Ar}'an  group  of  Italian  tribes  es- 
tablished themselves.  They  were  akin  to  the  Celts  in  blood  and 
language.  Farther  south,  at  the  foot  of  the  peninsula  and  in  the 
island  of  Sicily,  were  the  Greek  colonies.  This  was  the  general 
situation  as  late  as  600  B.C.  The  Italians  mingled  freely  with  the 
other  peoples,  took  over  their  civilization,  and  became  the  domi- 
nant race  of  the  peninsula.    Rome,  built  on  the  Tib€r,  not  far 

106 


LATIN  LITERATURE 


107 


from  the  sea,  was  the  center  of  their  political  life.  The  Etruscans, 
pressed  by  Gauls  at  the  north  and  Romans  at  the  south,  lost  their 
separate  identity  by  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  b.c,  though  they 
made  an  indelible  impression  upon  the  Italic  tribes  in  the  arts  and 
in  such  matters  as  road-building  and  military  fortifications.  Within 
another  hundred  years  Rome  was  in  control  as  far  south  as  Naples 
and  beyond.  Of  the  final  conquest  of  all  Italy,  the  conflict  of  Rome 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM 


with  Carthage  (264-146  b.  c),  the  expansion  of  Rome  to  include 
northern  Africa  and  the  Greek  world,  the  astonishing  conquests  of 
Julius  Caesar  in  Gaul,  and  the  position  of  the  Roman  Republic  as 
mistress  of  the  civilized  world,  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak  at  length. 
The  close  of  the  Republic  and  the  beginning  of  the  Empire — more 
particularly  the  Age  of  Augustus,  the  first  emperor  (31  b.  c- 
A.D.  14) — was  the  great  period  of  the  literature  of  Rome. 

It  will  be  evident  from  this  brief  sketch  that  the  Romans  were  of 
mixed  blood.  Oscan,  Umbrian,  Sabine,  Latin,  Etruscan,  and  Greek 
dialects  were  spoken  during  the  early  period.    The  first  Latin  writ- 


io8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

ers  had  a  cosmopolitan  character :  Andronicus  was  a  Greek  by  race, 
Plautus  an  Uml)rian,  Ennius  came  from  Calabria,  and  Terence 
from  Africa.  It  was  Rome  that  hound  all  Italy  together.  The  rise 
of  this  Latin  town  from  its  humble  beginnings  to  its  proud  position 
as  the  greatest  city  in  the  world  constitutes  one  of  the  phenomena 
of  history. 

Preliterary  Latin  was  comparatively  unified  and  was  spoken  by 
all  classes.  With  the  birth  of  literature  the  speech  of  the  people  be- 
gan to  differ  widely,  but  Greek  models  affected  considerably  the 
speech  of  the  literary  classes,  and  a  formal,  polished  language  re- 
sulted. The  differences  tended  to  grow  more  pronounced,  though 
the  common  people  were  influenced  to  some  extent  by  the  literary 
language  and  the  latter  took  over  certain  plebeian  forms  and  con- 
structions. During  the  classical  period  a  compromise  was  effected ; 
the  so-called  scrvio  cotidianus  was  a  speech  known  to  all  classes  and 
was  the  vernacular  used,  for  example,  in  Cicero's  letters.  At  the 
close  of  the  literary  period  literary  Latin  disappeared,  and  a  fixed 
Latin,  the  litigua  Romano,  was  used  thereafter  by  all  classes  until 
the  rise  of  the  Romance  languages.^  The  later  type  of  Latin  found 
its  representatives  in  the  Christian  writers ;  but  the  several  prov- 
inces were  developing  different  languages  of  their  own,  which  we 
now  recognize  as  Italian,  French,  Spanish,  etc. 

In  movement  Latin  is  more  dignified  and  heavy  and  less  elastic 
than  Greek.  Some  of  the  chief  Latin  waiters,  as  Horace,  Lucretius, 
Seneca,  and  Cicero,  admitted  the  supremacy  of  Greek.  Quintilian 
conceded  that  Greek  had  more  euphony  and  variety,  and  he  admitted 
that  Latin  words  were  harsher  in  sound  and  often  less  adapted  to 
express  varying  shades  of  meaning.  On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be 
alleged  that  Latin  is  distinguished  by  power  and  the  practical  char- 
acter of  its  ideas,  and  that  it  has  enduring  qualities,  as  is  proved  by 
its  long  history  and  by  its  incorporation  into  other  languages.  The 
stately  and  sonorous  Latin  prose  of  the  best  period  of  Rome  yet 
lives ;  it  is  a  noble  vehicle  of  expression.  In  Latin  poetry  three  ele- 
ments are  represented,  as  H.  W.  Garrod  points  out — the  Greek  or 

'For  further  particulars  see  D'Ooge's  " Concise  Latin  Grammar." 


LATIN  LITERATURE  109 

aesthetic  element,  the  primitive  Italian  with  its  fire  and  sensibility, 
and  the  somber  element  of  a  Rome  that  conquers  by  sheer  weight 
both  in  language  and  ideas. 

Roman  character  and  religion.  Professor  Duff  presents  in  the 
introduction  to  his  admirable  work  on  Roman  literature  an  inter- 
esting analysis  of  the  Roman  character  and  religion.  We  follow 
this  in  very  brief  outline.  The  masculine  vigor  of  the  Roman  na- 
tion was  remarkable.  There  was  a  persistence  of  type,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  no  other  nation  owed  so  much  to  outsiders 
and  foreigners.  Roman  literature  was  written  largely  by  men  in 
touch  with  the  highest  circles  of  society,  being  the  most  aristocratic 
in  flavor  and  authorship  of  all  literatures.  Yet  it  displayed  a  deep 
interest  in  the  problems  of  the  individual  and  the  State.  Virgil's 
life,  for  instance,  was  remote  from  that  of  the  average  man,  but  his 
work  is  bound  up  with  the  concerns  of  the  Rome  of  his  day.  The 
Roman  character  in  general  was  practical,  deliberate,  industrious, 
and  unromantic.  Order  and  system  were  paramount.  There  were 
rules  and  restrictions,  commands  and  prohibitions ;  organization  was 
at  the  basis  of  Roman  life.  The  moral  qualities — virtus,  represent- 
ing manliness ;  pictas,  standing  for  duty  to  kinsfolk,  country,  and 
gods ;  and  gravitas,  involving  the  idea  of  soberness  in  bearing  and 
mien — were  emphasized.  The  family  was  the  chief  factor  in  the 
State,  and  the  domestic  virtues  were  highly  esteemed.  In  disposi- 
tion the  Roman  was  businesslike.  He  was  little  influenced  by 
sentiment,  since  sentiment  was  not  useful.  He  was  conservative, 
but  if  the  new  thing  was  good  he  accepted  it.  He  distrusted  the 
Greek  for  his  versatility  and  the  Celt  for  his  changeability.  He  was 
not  inquisitive  nor  desirous  of  novelty.  Even  in  his  literature  he  was 
apt  to  appear  unoriginal  because  of  his  intensely  practical  nature. 
There  was  more  prose  than  poetry  in  his  literature.  The  Roman's 
desire  for  knowledge  was  limited  to  the  kind  that  would  prove  use- 
ful ;  the  speculative  philosophy  of  Greece  appealed  only  slightly  to 
him.  In  language  and  literature,  also,  the  influence  of  Greece  was 
largely  superficial. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  Roman  developed  a  strong 
central  government  and  that  his  legal  principles  and  their  applica- 


no  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

lion  have  powerfully  innuenced  the  world.  Art  and  literature  were 
subsidiary  to  other  things.    Virgil  wrote  (^Eneid  6) : 

"Let  others  melt  and  mould  the  breathing  bronze 
To  forms  more  fair,— aye !  out  of  marble  bring 
Features  that  live ;  let  them  plead  causes  well ; 
Or  trace  with  pointed  wand  the  cycled  heaven, 
And  hail  the  constellations  as  they  rise ; 
But  thou,  0  Roman,  learn  with  sovereign  sway 
To  rule  the  nations.    Thy  great  art  shall  be 
To  keep  the  world  in  lasting  peace,  to  spare 
The  humbled  foe,  and  crush  to  earth  the  proud.''^ 

The  Roman's  destiny  was  to  be  the  governor  of  the  world.  His 
artistic  genius  was  not  that  of  the  Greek :  he  built  amphitheaters, 
aqueducts,  and  roads.  To  achieve  power  and  greatness  was  a  na- 
tional impulse,  and  this  involved  war,  the  shedding  of  blood,  and 
conquest.  Julius  Caesar  was  the  preeminent  Roman  because  of  his 
masterful  spirit,  his  military  prowess,  and  his  organizing  ability. 

We  find  that  the  practical  element  dominated  also  the  religious 
thought  of  the  Roman.  There  was  observance  of  the  proper  ritual, 
a  development  of  the  idea  of  atonement,  a  desire  to  determine  the 
attitude  of  the  gods.  The  Greek  pantheon  was  taken  over,  but  the 
gods  now  became  a  family  conception,  with  twelve  great  gods  form- 
ing the  central  council  and  a  group  of  lesser  divinities — the  Lares 
and  Penates,  Vesta,  and  many  others — holding  minor  responsibili- 
ties. Guardian  spirits  of  river  and  spring  were  not  artistic  concep- 
tions, as  in  the  case  of  the  Greeks,  but  were  designed  to  guarantee 
abundance  of  water.-  The  Roman  sought  to  gain  the  favor  of  the 
god.  through  the  proper  ritual,  through  prayer  as  a  bit  of  magic, 
through  religious  guilds  and  augurs.  The  following  were  the  religious 
and  national  virtues  glorified  by  the  Romans:  obedience;  rev- 
erence for  father,  elders,  and  laws;  bravery;  good  faith;  decency; 
and  diligence.  The  Roman  character  was  deeply  affected  by  religion, 
and  the  Capitoline  Hill,  the  center  of  Rome,  was  the  center  of  the 
Roman  religion.    Rome  was,  indeed,  the  religion  of  the  Roman.  It 

1  Translation  by  Williams. 


LATIN  LITERATURE  III 

should  also  be  noted  that  the  Romans  were  tolerant  of  other  faiths, 
taking  over  ideas  from  Greece  and  many  other  lands.  Pliny  ex- 
pressed the  Roman  position  when  he  complained  of  the  Christians 
not  for  their  creed  or  practices  but  for  their  refusal  to  take  part  in 
the  current  sacrifices  of  the  Romans.  The  Roman's  objection  to 
Christianity  was  political  rather  than  religious.  It  is  also  quite 
probable  that  the  visionary  character  of  the  early  Christian,  his 
altruism,  and  his  contempt  for  earthly  happiness  could  not  be  ap- 
preciated by  the  average  Roman. 

From  Plautus  to  Cicero 

The  Greeks  in  the  development  of  their  literature  had  borrowed 
nothing  consciously  from  other  nations.  It  will  be  seen,  however, 
that  the  Latin  writers  were  prone  to  look  for  their  inspiration  to 
the  Greeks.  Andronicus,  who  lived  in  the  third  century  before 
Christ,  was  himself  of  Greek  race,  a  schoolmaster  and  playwright. 
He  translated  Greek  plays  and  also  the  Odyssey  into  rude  Latin. 
Naevius,  the  first  Latin  poet,  a  contemporary  of  Andronicus,  served 
as  a  soldier  in  the  First  Punic  War.  He  was  a  prolific  author  and 
had  considerable  influence  upon  Virgil  and  other  writers.  His  trag- 
edies and  comedies  employed  Greek  themes.  At  the  close  of  his  life 
he  produced  an  epic  poem  on  the  Punic  wars,  famous  in  its  day  and 
for  several  generations  to  come.  Ennius  (239-169  b.c.)  was  also  a 
soldier  and  a  poet.  We  have  only  fragments  of  his  productions,  and 
these  consist  largely  of  cjuotations  in  the  works  of  Cicero.  He  in- 
troduced the  Latin  hexameter.  Like  Naevius  he  wrote  plays  taken 
over  from  the  Greek,  and  he  essayed  to  produce  an  epic,  his  theme 
being  Roman  history  from  the  time  of  ^neas  to  his  own  day.  The 
latter  was  a  general  favorite  until  the  greater  epic  of  Virgil  sup- 
planted it. 

Plautus  (r.  254-184  B.C.)  and  Terence  (r.  190-c.  159  b.c.)  were 
the  first  Latin  writers  of  real  distinction  whose  works  have  survived. 
Their  work  was  representative  of  the  New  Comedy,  and  their  plays 
were  based  chieily  upon  the  Greek  comic  poet  Menander,  a  greater 
artist  than  either  of  his  Latin  successors.  The  New  Comedy,  as  dis- 


112  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

tinguished  from  the  Old  Comedy  of  Aristophanes,  took  domestic  or 
social  subjects  rather  than  political  and  was  less  boisterous  in 
character.  In  turn,  the  comedy  of  Italy  and  France  was  greatly 
inlluenccd  by  Plautus  and  Terence.  Shakespeare's  "Comedy  of 
Errors"  and  "Merry  Wives"  had  their  sources  in  plays  of  Plautus. 
We  get  a  livelier  impression  of  Plautus  through  the  "Comedy  of 
Errors"  than  through  any  direct  translation  of  the  Latin  play- 
wright. The  twenty  plays  of  Plautus  that  have  come  down  to  us  are 
all  based  on  Greek  models.  The  themes  are  generally  love  stories, 
and  Greek  cities,  more  particularly  the  city  of  Athens,  furnish  the 
scenes  of  the  plays.  Plautus  was,  however,  a  man  of  originality. 
He  rendered  an  important  service  as  a  language-maker  and^oubTeS" 
the  capacity  of  the  Latin  language.  A  distinctly  Roman  flavor 
pervades  his  plays,  and  the  personal  opinions  of  the  author  may  be 
clearly  distinguished.  There  are  witty  dialogue  and  movement  and 
color;  also  carelessness  of  construction  and  frequent  coarseness. 
The"Captivi,"  a  comedy  of  sentiment, and  the  "Trinummus,"  some- 
what romantic  in  character,  are  the  best-known  of  Plautus's  plays. 

Terence  probably  reached  only  the  age  of  thirty,  but  has  left 
us  six  graceful  and  polished  plays.  There  are  more  refinement 
and  subtlety  and  less  action  in  his  plays  than  in  those  of  Plautus. 
Terence  could  not  hold  his  audience,  as  he  himself  confesses  in  the 
prologue  to  one  of  his  plays.  The  populace  prefers  a  tight-rope  ex- 
hibition which  follows  the  play,  and  is  fickle  enough  to  desert  the 
theater  at  the  end  of  the  first  act  on  hearing  of  a  gladiatorial  contest 
elsewhere.  Yet  Terence  found  much  favor  in  due  time.  Horace 
and  Cicero  delighted  in  him  for  his  pure  Latinity.  His  plays  were 
frequently  acted  during  the  IMiddle  Ages  and  in  later  days. 

The  open  Roman  theater  during  the  time  of  Plautus  and  Terence 
was  still  somewhat  rude  and  was  built  of  wood,  without  regular 
seats.  The  spectators  were  crowded  together  on  the  slope  of  a  hill- 
side above  the  orchestra.  The  stage  was  long  and  narrow.  There 
was  some  attempt  at  scenery,  and  a  curtain  was  used.  The  char- 
acters wore  Greek  costumes,  but  masks  were  not  customary  until 
after  the  days  of  Terence.  Men  actors  took  all  the  parts.  It  was 
expected  that  the  play^vright  would  produce  his  own  plays. 


LATIN  LITERATURE  113 

With  the  development  of  other  types  of  literature  the  instincts 
of  the  Romans  led  them  away  from  the  drama,  and  after  Terence 
few  plays  of  any  importance  were  written. 

\Ye  pass  now  to  the  period  of  absorbing  interest  in  the  history  of 
Rome — the  first  century  before  Christ.  ''It  was,"  says  Barrett 
Wendell,  "the  century  of  Marius  and  Sulla,  of  Mithridates,  of 
Spartacus,  of  Catiline,  of  Pompey  and  of  Julius  Caesar,  of  the  con- 
quest of  Gaul,  of  the  crossing  of  the  Rubicon  and  of  the  battle  of 
Pharsalia,  of  Brutus  and  Cassius,  of  the  battle  of  Philippi,  of  An- 
,tony  and  Cleopatra,  of  the  battle  of  Actium,  and  of  the  final  con- 
centration of  Roman  power  under  the  imperial  sway  of  Caesar 
Augustus.  These  very  names  almost  tell  their  tale;  after  two 
thousand  years  they  are  as  familiar  as  ever." 

Famous  names  appear  also  in  the  field  of  literature.  Let  us  note 
first  Lucretius  (96-55  b.c.)  and  Catullus  (c.  87-c.  54B.C.),  two 
poets  whose  brief  lives  ended  during  the  tumultuous  military  years 
of  the  Republic.  Few  biographical  facts  regarding  either  have  been 
preserved.  The  great  work  of  Lucretius  was  ''De  Rerum  Natura" 
("The  Nature  of  Things"),  a  didactic  or  philosophical  poem  in  six 
books  (seven  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifteen  hexameter  lines), 
almost  completed  at  the  time  of  the  poet's  death.  The  theme  is  not 
essentially  poetic,  and  the  material  is  unequal  and  frequently  argu- 
mentative. What  is  important  to  remember,  however,  is  that  Lucre- 
tius was  a  genuine  lover  of  nature,  a  painstaking  scientist  who 
anticipated  some  of  the  discoveries  of  our  own  day,  and  a  clear 
analyst  of  the  springs  of  human  life  and  action.  "Lucretius,"  to 
quote  Huxley's  words,  "has  drunk  deeper  of  the  scientific  spirit 
than  any  other  poet  of  ancient  or  modern  times  except  Goethe"  ; 
hence  he  is  still  an  interesting  figure  after  all  these  centuries.  The 
Epicurean  philosophy  is  at  the  basis  of  the  poem  of  Lucretius,  as  is 
illustrated  by  such  concepts  as  these :  we  may  understand  the  phe- 
nomena of  nature  if  we  will ;  physical  law  is  grand  and  irresistible ; 
we  must  free  our  minds  of  religious  superstition  ;  philosophy  brings 
content  and  peace  of  mind.  Despite  his  skepticism  Lucretius  is  at 
times  haunted  by  the  fear  that  the  power  of  the  gods  may  perhaps 
be  unlimited. 


114  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"The  Nature  of  Things'"  is  the  only  one  of  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  philosophic  poems  of  antiquity  that  has  survived.  It  con- 
tains much  profound  truth  and  poetic  passages  of  great  beauty. 
The  invocation  to  Venus,  with  which  the  poem  opens,  is  famous. 
A  single  stanza  of  Spenser's  imitation  of  this  is  here  given: 

"Great  Venus  !  queen  of  beauty  and  of  grace, 

The  joy  of  gods  and  men,  that  under  sky 
Dost  fairest  shine,  and  most  adorn  thy  place  ; 

That  with  thy  smiling  look  dost  pacify 

The  raging  seas,  and  mak'st  the  storms  to  fly : 
Thee,  goddess,  thee  the  winds,  the  clouds  do  fear ; 

And  when  thou  spread'st  thy  mantle  forth  on  high. 
The  waters  play,  and  pleasant  lands  appear, 
And  heavens  laugh,  and  all  the  world  shows  joyous  cheer." 

The  study  of  Lucretius  in  Tennyson's  fine  poem  bearing  the  poet's 
name  should  not  be  overlooked. 

Tennyson  has  also  sung  of  Catullus,  whom  he  addresses  as  the 
"  tenderest  of  Roman  poets,"  The  home  of  Catullus  was  at  Verona, 
but  his  mature  years  were  spent  at  Rome,  where  he  mingled  in  all 
the  gay  life  of  the  capital  and  was  the  friend  of  the  celebrated  men 
of  the  period.  We  have  one  hundred  and  sixteen  of  his  lyric 
poems — bold,  graceful,  autobiographic,  and  splendidly  poetic.  At 
points  they  offend  our  modern  ideas  of  propriety.  Catullus  was  in- 
fluenced by  the  great  lyric  poets  of  Greece  and  also  by  the  epi- 
grammatic and  elegiac  poets  of  the  Alexandrian  school.  Some  of 
his  poems  are  addressed  to  "Lesbia,"  the  celebrated  Clodia,  a 
Roman  woman  of  his  day.  His  passion  for  her  may  have  been  real, 
but  it  was  hopeless. 

"I  hate  and  love — wherefore  I  cannot  tell, 
But  by  my  tortures  know  the  fact  too  well."^ 

He  wrote  an  epic  idyl  on  "The  Marriage  of  Peleus  and  Thetis"  and 
another  long  poem,  a  lyric  entitled  "Attis."  His  poems  for  oc- 
casions, his  personal  poems,  his  poems  of  travel,  his  elegies,  have  an 

1  Translation  by  Theodore  Martin. 


LATIN  LITERATURE  115 

unerring  touch  and  are  self-revealing  and  artistic.  Catullus  has  been 
frequently  translated,  sometimes  with  rare  felicity,  as  in  H.  \V.  Gar- 
rod's  translation  of  the  poem  that  Catullus  wrote  at  his  brother's 
grave  near  Troy : 

"Over  the  mighty  world's  highway, 
City  by  city,  sea  by  sea. 
Brother,  thy  brother  comes  to  pay 
Pitiful  offerings  unto  thee. 

"I  only  ask  to  grace  thy  bier 

With  gifts  that  only  give  farewell, 
To  tell  to  ears  that  cannot  hear 
The  things  that  it  is  vain  to  tell, 

"And,  idly  communing  with  dust, 
To  know  thy  presence  still  decried, 
And  ever  mourn  forever  lost 

A  soul  that  never  should  have  died. 

"Yet  think  not  wholly  vain  today 
This  fashion  that  our  fathers  gave 
That  hither  brings  me,  here  to  lay 
Some  gift  of  sorrow  on  thy  grave. 

"Take,  brother,  gifts  a  brother's  tears 
Bedewed  with  sorrow  as  they  fell, 
And  'Greeting'  to  the  end  of  years 
.  And  to  the  end  of  years  'Farewell.'" 

Latin  prose  had  an  important  representative  in  the  early  period 
— the  elder  Cato  (234-149  b.c),  a  statesman  and  military  man  as 
well  as  an  orator  and  writer.  He  was  strongly  individualistic  and 
fought  strenuously  against  the  Greek  influence  in  manners  and 
literature.  His  writings  have  reached  us  only  in  fragmentary  form ; 
they  covered  literary  criticism,  history,  and  morals.  In  Cicero's 
time  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  Cato's  speeches  were  still 
preserved.  They  were  famous  for  their  humor,  terseness,  conserva- 
tism, and  sagacity. 

In  the  age  of  Cicero  three  prose  writers  are  of  special  signifi- 
cance :  Caesar,  Sallust,  and  Cicero  himself. 


ii6 


LIIKKATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


Julius  Caesar.  It  seems  almost  by  accident  that  we  think  of 
Julius  (  a-sar  as  a  man  of  letters,  for  he  was  primarily  a  soldier  and 
statesman.  Yet  he  held  the  highest  social  position  and,  like  many 
men  of  his  day,  tried  his  hand  at  verses  and  other  types  of  writing. 
What  we  possess  are  his  military  reports ;  and  we  find  that  Cicero's 
praise  of  Caesar's  writings  was  true,  for  they  are  "unadorned, 

straightforward,  and  elegant,  their 
ornament  being  stript  off  as  it  were 
a  garment."  His  Latin  was  a  model 
of  its  kind — clear,  terse,  packed  full 
of  meaning.  We  have  the  seven  books 
of  his  "Commentaries  on  the  Gallic 
War,"  written  in  his  winter  quar- 
ters as  a  defense  of  his  policy,  and 
three  books  of  "Commentaries  on 
the  Civil  War,"  published  after  his 
death. 

Sallust.  Caesar's  life  covered  the 
years  from  loo  to  44  B.C.,  that  of 
Sallust  from  86  to  34  B.C.  Caesar 
was  the  patron  of  Sallust,  and  it  was 
due  to  the  munificence  of  Caesar 
that  Sallust  was  able  to  devote  his 
later  years  to  literary  work.  The  his- 
tory which  he  wrote  of  the  years  78-67  is  lost,  but  we  possess  his 
somewhat  biased  monograph  on  the  conspiracy  of  Catiline,  and 
another  monograph  giving  a  vivid  account  of  the  Jugurthine  War. 
Professor  Duff  says,  "He  abandoned  the  annalistic  method  that 
culminated  in  Caesar,  and  he  raised  the  literary  level  of  history." 

Cicero.  We  turn,  however,  to  Cicero  as  the  preeminent  prose 
writer  of  his  age.  His  life  spanned  the  period  from  106  b.c,  when 
he  was  born  in  the  small  town  of  Arpinum.  to  43  b.c,  when  he  was 
assassinated  because  of  his  opposition  to  Mark  Antony.  The  mere 
events  of  his  life  make  a  profoundly  interesting  chapter  in  the  his- 
tory of  Rome.  He  stands  revealed  to  us  with  exceeding  fullness, 
particularly  in  his  letters,  of  which  seven  hundred  and  seventy-four 


BUST  SAID  TO  BE  A  PORTRAIT  OF 
JULIUS   C^SAR 


LATIN  LITERATURE 


117 


have  been  preserved, — letters  written  to  a  variety  of  people  on  a 
variety  of  subjects  and  reflecting  every  sort  of  mood  from  grave  to 
gay.  His  broad  culture  had  come  through  intensive  study  in  Rome, 
through  wide  travel,  and  through  close  observation.  He  served  in 
the  army  and  had  a  checkered  political  career,  holding  from  time  to 
time  administrative  and  consular  positions.  He  was  passionately 
fond  of  his  profession  of  oratory. 
His  praise  of  letters  is  famous : 

"These  studies  are  the  food  of 
youth,  the  charm  of  age,  an  ornament 
in  prosperity,  in  adversity  a  refuge 
and  solace  ;  a  delight  at  home,  and  no 
hindrance  in  public  life ;  they  are  our 
comrades  of  the  night,  in  foreign 
lands,  among  country  scenes.'" 

By  sheer  genius  and  pains  he  fixed 
Latin  prose  style  and  Latin  speech, 
for  ''before  his  time,  Latin  prose 
was,  from  a  wide  point  of  view,  but 
one  among  many  local  ancient  dia- 
lects. As  it  left  his  hands,  it  had 
become  a  universal  language,  one 
which  had  definitely  superseded  all 
others,  Greek  included,  as  the  type 
of  civilized  expression." 

Cicero's  qualities  were  a  curious 
mixture  of  good  and  bad.  He  had 
lofty  aims  for  his  country,  and  for 

himself.  While  he  was  richly  endowed,  there  were  singular  checks 
in  his  nature,  which  limited  his  power.  United  to  a  ime  under- 
standing of  the  feelings  of  his  hearers  was  an  uncanny  skill  in  de- 
nouncing his  opponents  with  fierce  invective.  He  was  conceited  to 
a  degree  and  frequently  prolix.  Yet  he  was  a  clear  and  orderly 
thinker,  and  as  an  orator  earned  a  place  by  the  side  of  Demosthenes. 
Like  his  Greek  predecessor  he  fashioned  and  (k'veloped  his  native 
speech,  he  held  high  offices  in  the  state,  he  had  the  misfortune  to  de- 


CICERO 


ii8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

vote  his  powers  to  the  defense  of  causes  doomed  to  failure,  and  he 
died  a  violent  death  at  the  close  of  an  era  in  his  country's  history. 
"Cicero  was  the  first  statesman  belonging  to  the  intellectual  class; 
the  first  of  those  men  of  letters  who  have  been  throughout  the  his- 
tory of  our  civilization  either  the  pillars  of  state  or  the  workers  of 
revolution." 

Fifty-seven  of  Cicero's  speeches  have  survived,  and  fragments  of 
thirty  others.  His  writings  aside  from  these  were  considerable, 
touching  many  fields  of  thought.  The  essay  form,  used  so  effec- 
tively in  later  ages  by  INIontaigne,  Sainte-Beuve,  Bacon,  Charles 
Lamb,Carlyle,  and  many  others,  was  splendidly  adapted  to  Cicero's 
themes.  His  two  essays  on  friendship  and  on  old  age  have  always 
been  genuine  favorites.  We  see  him  at  his  best  in  these  two  essays 
— kindly,  philosophic,  of  engaging  personality,  serene,  the  cultured 
gentleman. 

"The  short  period  of  life  is  long  enough  for  living  well  and  honor- 
ably ;  and  if  you  should  advance  further,  you  need  no  more  grieve  than 
farmers  do  when  the  loveliness  of  spring-time  hath  passed,  that  summer 
and  autumn  have  come.  For  spring  represents  the  time  of  youth,  and 
gives  promise  of  the  future  fruits ;  the  remaining  seasons  are  intended 
for  plucking  and  gathering  in  those  fruits.  .  .  .  The  nearer  I  approach 
to  death,  I  seem,  as  it  were,  to  be  getting  sight  of  land,  and  at  length, 
after  a  long  voyage,  to  be  just  coming  into  harbor."^ 

The  Augustan  Age 

At  the  time  of  Cicero's  death  Virgil  was  twenty-seven,  Horace 
twenty-two,  and  Livy  sixteen.  But  they  belonged  to  a  new  world — 
a  world  of  peace,  which  involved  a  different  order  of  things.  The 
"Augustan  period"  had  arrived,  with  its  patronage  of  the  arts.  The 
Emperor  Augustus  and  his  adviser  or  home  minister,  Maecenas, 
encouraged  authorship.  Adulation  of  the  emperor  became  the 
accepted  thing. 

Virgil.  The  fame  of  Virgil  as  a  poet,  very  great  in  his  own  day, 
has  scarcely  been  dimmed  in  the  intervening  centuries.  His  su- 
preme vogue,  however,  received  rude  assaults  at  the  end  of  the 
>  Translation  by  Edmonds. 


LATIN  LITERATURE  1 19 

eighteenth  century,  principally  in  Germany.  What  Homer  was  to 
the  Greeks,  Virgil  was  to  the  Romans.  He  was  the  lesser  poet,  but 
his  work  for  long  centuries  was  better  known.  He  is  the  poet's 
poet.  Dante's  reverence  for  him  is  touching,  and  it  reveals  the 
mental  and  spiritual  stature  of  both  these  great  poets  of  Italy. 
Tennyson  proclaimed  his  devotion  when  he  sang : 

"I  salute  thee,  Mantovano,  I  that  loved  thee  since  my  day  began, 
Wielder  of  the  stateliest  measure  ever  moulded  by  the  lips  of  man." 

Virgil  was  born  near  Mantua,  in  northern  Italy,  in  the  year  70  b.  c. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  a  close  student,  with  a  shy  and  retiring  dis- 
position. By  a  fortunate  chance  he  became  established  at  Rome 
about  the  age  of  thirty  as  the  friend  of  Augustus  and  Maecenas. 
Both  of  these  patrons  recognized  his  ability  as  a  poet.  Horace  also 
became  Virgil's  friend,  and  Virgil  introduced  him  to  Maecenas, 
During  the  latter  part  of  his  life  Virgil  made  his  home  chiefly  in 
Campania  or,  during  the  winter,  in  Naples.  At  the  age  of  fifty-one 
he  died.  His  was  a  singularly  enviable  life.  He  knew  all  Italy  and 
Sicily  and  was  a  genuine  lover  of  nature.  He  was  deeply  versed  in 
Greek  and  Roman  literature.  Believing  in  Caesar  Augustus  and 
in  the  new  world  situation,  he  sang  not  only  of  the  glories  of  the 
past  but  of  the  present.  His  life  was  detached ;  he  had  few  inti- 
mates ;  he  was  a  scholar,  a  dreamer,  an  idealist.  He  wrote  in  retire- 
ment and  produced  his  work  slowly,  laboring  seven  years  on  the 
''Georgics"  and  ten  on  the  .^neid.  He  had  hoped  to  be  granted 
three  years  more  on  his  great  epic,  and  when  he  found  this  was  not 
to  be,  rather  than  leave  it  in  an  incomplete  state  he  asked  that 
the  work  be  destroyed.   Augustus,  however,  set  aside  the  request. 

The  "Eclogues,"  or  "Bucolics,"  were  the  first  writings  of  Virgil. 
They  consisted  of  a  series  of  pastoral  poems  (eight  hundred  and 
fifty  hexameter  lines)  closely  resembling  those  of  Theocritus.  They 
are  unequal,  but  at  places  display  brilliant  promise.  Macaulay  pre- 
ferred the  "Eclogues"  to  the  rest  of  Virgil's  works.  While  they  are 
not  original  in  conception,  yet  they  picture  an  Italian  landscape, 
rather  than  the  Sicilian  landscape  of  Theocritus.  Two  lines  in  the 
fourth  "Eclogue"  have  rendered  it  famous : 


120 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


"Once  more  the  Virfiin  comes  and  Saturn's  reign; 
Behold  a  heaven-born  offspring  earthward  hies."^ 

Whatever  the  author  may  have  had  in  mind  himself,  these  lines, 
written  within  forty  years  of  the  birth  of  Christ,  came  in  due 

time  to  be  looked  upon  by 
Christian  Europe  as  almost 
literal  prophecy. 

It  is  said  that  Maecenas  gave 
Virgil  the  suggestion  of  the 
"Georgics."  The  idea  must  have 
been  an  attractive  one,  for  Vir- 
gil had  been  brought  up  among 
rural  scenes,  he  loved  the  soil, 
and  his  soul  rejoiced  in  the 
beauty  of  the  most  beautiful 
of  all  lands.  The  ''Georgics" 
are  agricultural  poems,  with 
the  Greek  poems  of  Hesiod  as 
their  model.  They  comprise,  in 
all,  twenty-two  hundred  lines, 
in  four  books  dealing  respec- 
tively with  agriculture,  with 
the  cultivation  of  trees,  with 
animals,  and  with  bees.  Virgil 
displays  love  and  enthusiasm 
for  his  subject  and  writes  in  an  almost  faultless  poetic  style. 
"The  'Georgics,'"  said  Dryden,  "are  more  perfect  in  their  kind 
than  even  the  divine  ^neids."  A  few  lines  in  which  Virgil  praises 
the  life  of  the  farmer  are  here  given,  as  translated  by  Dryden: 

"Easy  quiet,  a  secure  retreat, 
A  harmless  life  that  knows  not  how  to  cheat, 
With  home-bred  plenty,  the  rich  owner  bless ; 
And  rural  pleasures  crown  his  happiness. 
Unvcx'd  with  quarrels,  undisturb'd  with  noise, 
The  country  king  his  peaceful  realm  enjoys — 

1  Translation  by  Williams. 


VIKGIL 


LATIN  LITERATURE  121 

Cool  grots,  and  living  lakes,  the  flow'ry  pride 

Of  meads,  and  streams  that  through  the  valley  glide, 

And  shady  groves  that  easy  sleep  invite. 

And,  after  toilsome  days,  a  sweet  repose  at  night." 

However,  it  is  with  the  ^^neid  that  we  naturally  associate  the 
name  of  Virgil.  This  national  epic  was  undertaken  at  the  instance 
of  Augustus.  Virgil's  theme  was  a  noble  one,  for  it  traced  the  for- 
tunes of  .^neas,  the  reputed  ancestor  of  the  Latins,  from  his  home 
in  Troy  to  his  final  establishment  in  Italy.  Virgil  fashioned  his 
poem  slowly,  a  few  lines  at  a  time,  "licking  them  into  shape,"  he 
said,  "as  a  she-bear  does  her  cubs."  It  was,  indeed,  deliberate  and 
not  spontaneous  poetry,  and  hence  the  work  is  termed  a  "literary 
epic."  In  this  respect  it  is  similar  to  the  epics  of  Dante  and  Milton 
and  unlike  those  of  Homer.  A  comparison  of  the  .^neid  with  the 
Iliad  and  the  Odyssey  is  of  course,  inevitable ;  and  Virgil  suffers  by 
comparison.  But  every  work  of  art  has  its  own  peculiar  merits. 
The  i^neid  takes  its  place  with  the  great  epics  of  the  world. 

The  ^neid  has  the  same  meter  as  the  Homeric  epics — dactylic 
hexameter.  It  is  in  twelve  books  and  contains  something  less  than 
ten  thousand  lines,  thus  being  shorter  than  either  of  the  Homeric 
epics.  The  first  six  books  suggest  the  Odyssey,  for  .^^neas,  like 
another  Odysseus,  is  seen  in  his  travels  on  land  and  sea ;  the  last 
six  books,  with  their  account  of  battles  and  single  combats,  remind 
us  of  the  Iliad.  Other  similarities  are  quite  obvious,  such  as  the 
interposition  of  the  gods  in  human  affairs ;  the  long  tale  of  ^neas 
to  Dido  after  the  fashion  of  Odysseus'  tale  to  Alcinous ;  the  descent 
to  the  lower  world  ;  and  Eneas'  duel  with  Turnus,  reminding  us  so 
forcibly  of  Achilles  and  Hector.  Virgil,  however,  seems  much  more 
remote  from  his  subject  than  does  Homer,  for  he  tells  of  the  past, 
while  Homer  seems  to  speak  of  the  present.  Virgil's  gods  have  an 
unsubstantial  quality,  ^neas,  the  chief  figure,  is  not  very  humanly 
drawn,  nor  is  the  epic  closely  knit  together.  The  style  is  not  so 
grandly  simple  as  that  of  Homer,  and  the  vast  erudition  of  Virgil 
sometimes  acts  as  a  deterrent  to  the  reading  of  the  poem.  Such 
matters  as  these  are  set  forth  very  interestingly  in  Williams's 
introduction  to  his  wholly  admirable  translation  of  the  ^Eneid. 


122  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

On  the  other  hand,  Williams  and  others  have  noted  that  the  rea- 
son why  Virgil  treats  of  the  past  with  such  painstaking  thorough- 
ness is  not  to  display  his  learning  but  to  explain  and  illuminate  the 
present.  His  use  of  Homeric  material  was  inevitable,  but  there  is 
an  immense  amount  of  original  matter  in  the  ^neid.  "The  fibre 
of  his  thought— as  distinguished  from  the  framework  of  his  epic — 
is  his  own."  Virgil  shows  a  deep  sympathy  with  his  characters,  a 
love  of  peace,  an  intense  patriotism,  and  a  belief  in  the  future  of  his 
race.  Part  of  our  interest  in  the  character  of  .Eneas  lies  in  his  de- 
tachment of  mind,  his  perplexity  and  doubt,  his  kingly  dignity — 
and  the  personality  of  Virgil  himself  seems  to  be  revealed  in  these 
qualities. 

The  iEneid  should  unquestionably  be  the  literary  possession  of 
every  cultured  person.  It  abounds  in  great  scenes  and  passages. 
The  shipwreck  of  ^neas  as  described  in  Book  i,  the  powerful  pic- 
ture of  the  destruction  of  Troy,  the  pathetic  story  of  Dido,  the 
superb  account  of  .Eneas'  visit  to  the  dead,  and  the  spirited  de- 
scription of  his  final  triumph  over  Turnus,  with  the  establishment 
of  his  race  in  Italy, — these  have  perennial  interest.  Books  i,  2, 
and  6  are  perhaps  the  most  impressive  portions  of  the  .^neid.  Our 
account  of  Virgil  may  fittingly  close  with  Williams's  fine  criticism : 

"In  the  Sixth  Book,  which  is  the  moral  climax  of  the  poem,  Virgil 
sets  forth  in  terms  of  ethics  that  most  genuine  part  of  a  Roman's  faith, 
the  religion  of  the  dead.  It  deals  with  the  problem  of  the  individual, 
and  with  the  life  after  death  which  redresses,  both  for  successful  crime 
and  suffering  virtue,  the  wavering  scales  of  earthly  justice.  His  concep- 
tion of  merit  is  Roman,  social,  humane.  The  family,  the  state,  the  whole 
unfolding  of  Roman  story,  have  their  causes  in  an  unseen,  dinner  world. 
....  By  such  thoughts  was  Virgil's  name  endeared  to  the  Christian 
Rome,  that  was  to  rise  on  the  ruins  of  what  the  Caesars  wrought.  His 
\isions  are  cloudy ;  and  nothing  is  clear  but  the  seriousness  of  his  con- 
viction that  only  righteousness  builds  nations,  and  only  righteous  souls 
abide  in  lasting  joy." 

Horace  (65-8  b.c.)  shares  with  Virgil  the  honor  of  occupying 
the  most  distinguished  position  among  Latin  poets.  These  two  were 
friends  and  contemporaries,  but  very  different  in  genius  and  tern- 


LATIN  LITERATURE 


123 


perament.  Horace's  birthplace  was  Venusia,  a  town  of  Apulia 
about  midway  between  Rome  and  the  toe  of  Italy.  His  station  in 
life  was  comparatively  humble,  but  his  father  had  ambitions  for  his 
son  and  gave  him  the  best  education  within  his  power,  at  Rome  and 
Athens.  As  a  youth  he  took  service  in  the  army  of  Brutus  and 
shared  in  the  defeat  at  Philippi.  On  his  return  to  Rome,  without 
property  or  position,  he  began  his  career  as  a  poet  in  a  modest  way. 
A  few  years  later  he  was  intro- 
duced by  Virgil  to  Maecenas,  and 
in  due  time  he  found  his  place  in 
the  recognized  circle  of  the  inti- 
mates of  this  distinguished  man. 
His  first  writings  displayed  some- 
thing of  coarseness  and  bitterness 
of  feeling,  which,  however,  dis- 
appeared as  his  work  matured. 
The  gift  by  jNIaecenas  of  a  farm  in 
the  Sabine  hills  added  greatly  to 
his  comfort  and  well-being.  In 
one  of  his  late  satires  he  wrote : 


HORACE 


"My  pray'rs  with  this  I  used  to  charge, — 
A  piece  of  land  not  very  large, 
WTierein  there  should  a  garden  be, 
A  clear  spring  flowing  ceaselessly, 
And  where,  to  crown  the  whole,  there  should 
A  patch  be  found  of  growing  wood. 
All  this,  and  more,  the  gods  have  sent, 
And  I  am  heartily  content."^ 

The  self-revelation  of  Horace  is  his  chief  charm.  He  has  the  same 
pleasant  egotism  as  Charles  Lamb  or  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes.  The 
rare  flavor  which  we  discover  in  "Echoes  from  the  Sabine  Farm" 
— the  volume  of  very  free  translations  of  Horace's  "Odes,"  mainly 
by  Eugene  Field — is  due,  no  doubt,  to  Eugene  Field's  own  self- 
consciousness  and  other  Horatian  qualities. 


1  Translation  by  Martin. 


124  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Horace  loved  his  country  and  believed  in  its  future  with  the 
same  enthusiasm  as  Virgil.  He  had  a  passion  for  the  poetry  of 
Greece ;  his  own  hope  for  immortality  rested  in  his  transference  to 
Latin  of  some  of  the  meters  and  exquisite  cadences  of  the  Greek 
poets.  But  our  love  for  him  is  based  upon  the  personality  that 
he  displays  in  all  his  mature  writings.  He  is  urbane,  delicate, 
humorous,  playful,  self-revealing.  His  picture  of  his  times  is  so 
intimate  that  the  Augustan  Age  cannot  possibly  seem  remote  to  any 
reader  of  Horace.  Thus  he  will  always  be  read  and  admired  ;  and 
the  greater  our  knowledge  of  the  man  the  greater  our  love  for  him. 
Horace  has  never  been  adequately  translated,  though  no  poet  has 
been  attempted  so  frequently.  He  should  be  read  in  the  original. 
However,  in  such  translations  as  those  of  Field  or  Theodore  Martin 
it  is  not  difficult  to  discover  Horace's  good  sense,  fine  tastes  and 
hopes,  and  personal  attractiveness — in  a  word,  his  curiosa  jelicitas, 
his  ''artless  art,"  a  characterization  applied  to  him  by  a  later 
Roman.  The  world  was  kind  to  him ;  his  philosophy  was  serene. 
He  finished  his  life  while  the  newly  established  Roman  Empire 
still  held  its  highest  promise.  Maecenas  and  he  died  the  same  year. 
Thus  his  prophecy  was  fulfilled: 

"Ah !  if  untimely  fate  should  snatch  thee  hence, 

Thee,  of  my  soul  a  part, 
Why  should  I  linger  on,  with  deaden'd  sense, 

And  ever-aching  heart, 
A  worthless  fragment  of  a  fallen  shrine  ? 
No,  no  !   One  day  beholds  thy  death  and  mine !  "^ 

Horace's  chief  title  to  fame  as  a  poet  rests  upon  his  later 
"Satires,"  his  "Odes,"  and  his  "Epistles."  The  "Epodes,"  which 
preceded  the  "Odes,"  are  of  inferior  quality.  They  consist  of  a 
collection  of  poems — made  up  of  hexameter  couplets — modeled  on 
the  Greek.  The  "Odes"  (or,  as  he  himself  called  them,  "Carmina," 
or  "Songs")  are  the  work  of  Horace's  manhood.  By  most  of  his 
recent  critics  they  are  thought  to  contain  the  choicest  of  his  poetry. 
They  are  in  four  books,  and  they  number  one  hundred  and  three 

1  Translation  by  Martin. 


LATIN  LITERATURE  125 

poems  in  all.  The  ''Odes"  are  lyric,  in  a  great  variety  of  meters, 
preserving  all  that  was  most  beautful  in  the  measures  of  the  Greek 
poets  of  the  Lyric  Age. 

Horace's  "  Satires  "  were  at  first  conscious  imitations  of  the  poems 
of  the  Roman  satirists  that  had  preceded  him,  particularly  Lucilius. 
The  satire  is  a  form  of  poetry  which,  as  Quintilian  says,  is  "an  in- 
dependent creation  of  Roman  genius."  Satire  is  "the  expression  in 
adequate  terms  of  a  sense  of  amusement  or  disgust  excited  by  the 
ridiculous  or  unseemly."  Now  it  is  evident  that  satire  may  be  play- 
ful and  good-humored,  or  that  it  may  be  sarcastic,  mocking,  and 
abusive.  The  characteristic  Horatian  satire  is  of  the  former  sort, 
while  Juvenal's  satire  displays  indignant  bitterness.  In  later  Euro- 
pean literature,  as  we  shall  see,  the  eighteenth  century  was  the  great 
age  of  satire.  Voltaire,  Swift  and  Pope,  Addison  and  Steele,  were 
all  satirists,  and  all  owed  much  to  the  satirists  of  ancient  Rome. 

The  "Satires"  of  Horace  are  eighteen  in  number,  are  grouped  in 
two  books,  and  are  written  in  hexameter  verse.  Some  are  especially 
felicitous,  as  the  fifth  in  Book  i,  which  tells  of  the  journey  from 
Rome  to  Brundisium  by  Virgil,  Maecenas,  and  Horace;  the  ninth 
of  the  same  book,  dealing  with  a  bore  who  fastened  himself  upon 
Horace  in  the  Forum ;  and  the  sixth  of  Book  2,  recording  Horace's 
love  for  his  farm  and  his  gratitude  to  Maecenas.  The  "Epistles," 
also  written  in  hexameter,  are  in  two  books  and  number  twenty-two. 
They  are  devoted  mainly  to  literary  criticism.  A  separate  letter, 
"On  the  Art  of  Poetry,"  has  exerted  great  influence  on  the  history 
of  criticism.  It  inspired  the  French  critic  Boileau  in  his  "Art  of 
Poetry,"  and  this  in  turn  was  for  years  the  basis  of  French  and 
English  criticism. 

"The  rules  a  nation,  born  to  serve,  obeys, 
And  Boileau  still  in  right  of  Horace  sways." ^ 

Let  us  take  our  last  view  of  Horace  from  Dryden's  superb  trans- 
lation of  a  portion  of  Ode  29  (in  Book  3),  "To  Maecenas."  "I  have 
endeavored,"  said  Dryden,  "to  make  it  my  masterpiece  in  English." 

1  From  Pope's  "  Essay  on  Criticism." 


126  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"Happy  the  man — and  happy  he  alone, — 
He,  who  can  call  to-day  his  own ; 
He  who,  secure  within,  can  say 
'To-morrow,  do  thy  worst,  for  I  have  lived  to-day; 

Be  fair,  or  foul,  or  rain,  or  shine, 
The  joys  I  have  possessed,  in  spite  of  Fate,  are  mine, 

Not  Heaven  itself  upon  the  Past  has  power. 
But  what  has  been,  has  been,  and  I  have  had  my  hour.' 

"Fortune,  that  with  malicious  joy 

Does  man,  her  slave,  oppress, 
Proud  of  her  office  to  destroy, 

Is  seldom  pleased  to  bless ; 
Still  various,  and  unconstant  still. 

But  with  an  inclination  to  be  ill, 
Promotes,  degrades,  delights  in  strife, 

And  makes  a  lottery  of  life. 

I  can  enjoy  her  while  she's  kind, 
But  when  she  dances  in  the  wind, 

And  shakes  the  wings,  and  will  not  stay, 
I  puff  the  prostitute  away. 
The  little  or  the  much  she  gave  is  quietly  resigned : 
Content  with  poverty  my  soul  I  arm, 
And  virtue,  tho'  in  rags,  will  keep  me  warm. 

"What  is't  to  me, 
Who  never  sail  in  her  unfaithful  sea. 
If  storms  arise,  and  clouds  grow  black, 
If  the  mast  spHt,  and  threaten  wrack? 
Then  let  the  greedy  merchant  fear 

For  his  ill-gotten  gain ; 
And  pray  to  gods  that  will  not  hear, 
While  the  debating  winds,  and  billows  bear 
His  wealth  into  the  main. 
For  me,  secure  from  fortune's  blows, 
Secure  of  what  I  cannot  lose, 
In  my  small  pinnace  I  can  sail. 
Contemning  all  the  blustering  roar : 

And  running  with  a  merry  gale. 
With  friendly  stars  my  safety  seek 
Within  some  little  winding  creek, 
And  see  the  storm  ashore." 


LATIN  LITERATURE  127 

A  great  amount  of  Augustan  poetry  has  perished,  and  is  revealed 
to  us  only  by  grammarians.  Poets  who  in  their  own  time  had  the 
reputation  of  a  Milton  or  a  Tennyson  have  now  become  mere 
names. 

Livy.  Two  important  writers  of  the  Augustan  Age  remain  to  be 
recorded — Livy  (59  b.c.-a.d.  17)  and  Ovid  (43  b.c.-c.  a.d.  18). 
Livy  was  a  historian  of  such  contemporary  fame  that  we  have  the 
curious  story  of  a  Spaniard  who  came  all  the  way  from  his  home 
to  the  distant  city  of  Rome  to  meet  the  great  historian  and,  hav- 
ing achieved  his  purpose,  returned  at  once,  as  if  Rome  had  no 
other  wonder  worthy  of  attention.  Livy  was  a  man  of  enormous 
industry  and  application.  His  history  consisted  of  one  hundred  and 
forty-two  brilliantly  written  books,  of  which  only  thirty-five  have 
survived — Books  i-io  and  21-45.  The  whole  work,  of  which 
there  remains  a  fairly  complete  summary  preserved  by  other  writers, 
covered  the  history  of  Rome  from  the  time  of  JEneas  to  the  year 
9  B.C.,  the  narrative  being  broken  off  only  when  Livy  died  at  his 
home  in  Padua,  aged  seventy-five.  His  aim  was  chiefly  to  record  the 
moral  lessons  of  Rome's  story,  as  he  himself  assures  us  in  the  pref- 
ace to  his  work.  He  was  not  a  critical  historian,  for  he  did  not 
study  his  sources  and  arrive  at  a  reasoned  judgment  regarding  their 
trustworthiness ;  but  the  nearer  he  came  to  his  own  times  the  more 
accurate  was  his  text.  Livy  was  impressed  with  the  greatness  and 
destiny  of  Rome  and  with  the  conviction  that  history  is  to  be 
narrated  in  order  to  influence  conduct.  Like  Thucydides  he  in- 
troduced speeches  in  his  work;  and  he  proved  himself,  moreover, 
no  mean  orator.  As  a  writer  of  forceful,  effective  prose  he  belongs 
to  the  best  period  of  Latin  literature,  and  is  as  prominent  in  his 
field  as  Virgil  and  Horace  are  in  theirs.  Indeed,  some  regard  him 
as  the  greatest  master  of  prose  composition  that  ever  lived. 

Ovid  seems  to  be  far  removed  from  the  earlier  poets  of  his  age. 
His  birth  occurred  twenty-seven  years  later  than  that  of  Virgil  and 
twenty-two  years  later  than  that  of  Horace.  Virgil  reveals  the 
idealistic  and  religious  aspirations  of  the  time,  and  Horace  the  good 
sense  and  clear  vision  of  a  sympathetic  spectator ;  Ovid,  however, 
impresses  us  as  the  fashionable  man  about  town, — frivolous,  super- 


128  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

ficial,  typifying  a  period  of  moral  decline.  Yet  he  wrote  brilliantly 
and  clearly,  and  he  belonged  to  the  poetic  succession.  The  influence 
of  Ovid's  art  and  themes  is  seen  in  the  Italian  poets  Ariosto  and 
Tasso,  in  Montaigne,  in  Spenser  and  Milton,  and  in  Shakespeare 
(witness  "Venus  and  Adonis"  and  "Lucrece").  Most  of  his  poetry 
was  elegiac  in  form.  Elegiac  poetry  was  frequent  in  the  literature  of 
Greece,  especially  in  the  Alexandrian  period,  as  we  have  seen.  Just 
before  the  time  of  Ovid  the  Roman  poets  Tibullus  and  Propertius 
had  done  much  to  develop  this  type  of  poetry.  It  was  meditative  and 
brief,  frequently  mournful  but  dealing  also  with  war  and  love.  The 
elegiac  meter  consisted  of  an  alternation  of  hexameter  and  pentam- 
eter. The  most  famous  English  elegiac  poems  are  the  "Lycidas" 
of  Milton  and  the  "Adonais"  of  Shelley. 

Ovid's  early  poems  consisted  of  the  "Heroides,"  a  series  of  im- 
aginary letters,  the  "Amores,"  and  the  "Art  of  Love."  These  last 
two  were  so  immoral  as  to  shock  the  sense  of  decency  of  even  his 
contemporaries.  Perhaps  because  of  their  boldness,  or  more  prob- 
ably because  of  some  scandalous  misconduct^  of  the  poet  himself, 
he  was  banished  to  a  town  on  the  Black  Sea,  and  there  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  was  spent.  Ovid  is  remembered  chiefly  for  his 
"Metamorphoses,"  produced  in  exile,  consisting  of  fifteen  books 
written  in  hexameter,  averaging  eight  hundred  lines  each.  In  these 
romantic  tales  he  called  to  life  an  imaginary  past.  Popular  knowl- 
edge of  the  early  myths  is  derived  largely  from  Ovid  or  through 
books  based  on  Ovid,  such  as  Hawthorne's  "Wonder  Book"  and 
"Tanglewood  Tales."  The  poems  are  racy  and  fluent  and  possess 
the  superficial  brilliancy  of  their  author.  As  a  story-teller  Ovid  has 
rarely  been  surpassed. 

The  Later  Literature 

With  the  close  of  the  Augustan  Age  all  the  great  Latin  writers, 
with  a  few  notable  exceptions,  had  produced  their  work.  A  period 
of  decadence  in  both  the  political  and  the  literary  life  of  Rome  had 
set  in.    Augustus  was  succeeded  by  ten  other  Caesars,  whose  fretful 

^The  implication  of  this,  however,  the  poet  indignantly  denied. 


LATIN  LITERATURE  129 

lives  all  were  terminated  within  the  first  century  of  our  era.  The 
times  were  not  such  as  to  encourage  literature.  Yet  we  record  such 
names  as  Phaidrus  (the  author  of  Latin  verses  giving  the  fables  of 
the  legendary  Greek  ^sop),  Seneca,  Lucan,  the  two  Plinys,  Quin- 
tilian  the  critic,  Statius  the  poet,  and  three  other  writers  of  con- 
siderable prominence — Martial,  Tacitus,  and  Juvenal. 

Seneca  {c.  4  b.c.-a.d.  65),  born  in  Spain  and  an  adherent  of  the 
Stoic  philosophy,  was  a  prolific  writer.  He  was  a  man  of  checkered 
fortunes  and  inconsistent  cHaracter  and  is  chiefly  remembered  for 
his  tragedies  and  for  his  moral  essays  and  epistles  on  the  conduct  of 
life.  Lucan  (a.d.  39-65),  another  gifted  Spaniard,  was  the  author 
of  "Pharsalia,"  an  immature  but  at  times  powerful  epic  poem  in 
ten  books  dealing  with  the  civil  war  between  Caesar  and  Pompey. 
The  younger  Pliny  (a.d.  62-113)  was  a  man  of  admirable  char- 
acter living  in  evil  times.  His  letters  are  justly  famous,  though 
somewhat  more  artificial  than  those  of  Cicero.  One  of  these  letters 
gives  a  vivid  account  of  the  destruction  of  Pompeii  and  the  death  of 
his  uncle,  the  elder  Pliny ;  another  gives  counsel  to  the  Emperor 
Trajan  concerning  the  trial  of  certain  of  his  subjects  who  professed 
Christianity.  Martial  (a.d.  43-104),  like  Seneca  and  Lucan,  was 
a  native  of  Spain.  He  was  a  writer  of  poetic  epigrams,  brief,  witty, 
and  brilliant.  These  numbered  several  hundreds,  in  fourteen  books. 
Some  are  sharp  and  pointed,  some  abusive,  and  still  others  human 
and  tender.  He  lived  mostly  in  Rome  and  was  the  intimate  friend 
of  other  writers  of  his  day. 

Tacitus  and  Juvenal  were  the  last  of  the  undoubtedly  great 
Roman  writers.  Of  Tacitus  the  historian  Von  Ranke  has  said : 
"If  one  yields  to  the  impression  made  by  his  works,  one  is  carried 
away  by  it.  There  is  no  trace  in  him  of  the  manner  and  method  of 
Greek  historiography.  He  is  Roman  through  and  through,  and  in- 
deed the  master  of  all  who  have  written  before  or  since."  His  life 
covered  the  period  from  about  a.d.  55  to  about  117.  He  appears  to 
have  known  the  younger  Pliny;  little,  however,  is  recorded  of  his 
life.  His  writings  include  two  monographs — the  "  Germania,"  pre- 
senting a  study  of  the  Germans  (the  chief  authority  in  all  an- 
cient literature  for  our  knowledge  of  the  early  Germans),  and  the 


I30  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"  Agricola,"  a  biography  of  his  father-in-law  ;  also''  Dialogus  deOra- 
toribus,"  a  treatise  on  oratory.  It  is,  however,  his  "Histories"  and 
"Annals"  that  constitute  his  chief  title  to  fame.  The  former  dealt 
almost  with  his  own  times ;  the  latter  covered  the  period  following 
the  death  of  Augustus.  As  Livy's  historical  method  somewhat  re- 
sembles that  of  Herodotus,  so  Tacitus'  resembles  that  of  Thucyd- 
ides.  He  appeals  to  us  as  a  real  and  powerful  historian.  His 
strength  lies  in  his  analysis,  in  his  character  studies,  in  his  ability  to 
coin  phrases,  and  in  his  tersely  imaginative  style. 

We  are  left  largely  to  conjecture  regarding  the  details  of  the  life 
of  the  poet  Juvenal  (c.  a.d.  60-140).  He  was  a  contemporary  of 
Tacitus  and,  like  Tacitus,  burned  with  indignation  against  the  evils 
of  his  time.  The  temper  of  the  eighteenth-century  satirist  Jonathan 
Swift  reminds  us  strongly  of  Juvenal.  Contemporary  references 
point  to  the  fact  that  Juvenal  was  a  trained  rhetorician  and  that  he 
recited  his  verses  in  public.  Any  man  of  integrity  of  heart  living 
in  his  times  would  unquestionably  have  found  much  to  condemn  in 
the  lives  of  the  emperors,  in  the  shallow  culture  and  wicked  extrava- 
gance of  the  Romans,  and  in  the  loss  oi  the  manliness  and  power  of 
the  older  days.  But  Juvenal  appears  to  have  had  rancor  in  his  soul 
and  to  have  indulged  himself  in  a  profound  pessimism.  That  he  was 
a  powerful  thinker  is  very  evident.  He  is  esteemed  for  the  imperson- 
ality, sustained  force,  and  systematic  arrangement  of  his  "Satires" 
and  for  his  telling  phrases  and  effective  use  of  illustrations. 

Juvenal  has  left  us  sixteen  satires  in  five  books,  containing  some 
four  thousand  lines.  The  best-known  are  the  third,  in  Book  i, 
giving  a  picture  of  the  Rome  of  his  period  (imitated  by  Samuel 
Johnson  in  his  poem  "London")  ;  the  sixth,  in  Book  2,  a  diatribe 
against  the  whole  female  sex;  and  the  tenth,  in  Book  4,  on  "the 
vanity  of  human  wishes."  When  we  think  of  formal  satire  we 
think  of  Juvenal ;  in  other  words,  Juvenal  determined  for  all  time 
the  general  character  of  this  type  of  literature. 

A  minor  work  which  survives  from  the  first  century  possesses 
considerable  interest — a  tale  written  by  Petronius  Arbiter,  an 
intimate  friend  of  the  Emperor  Nero.  It  is  autobiographical  and 
gives  in  a  sprightly  and  entirely  unique  way  the  adventures  of  a 


LATIN  LITERATURE  131 

Greek  freedman  in  certain  towns  of  Italy.  Only  fragments  remain  ; 
the  most  entertaining  of  these  is  the  portion  known  as  "A  Supper 
of  Trimalchio." 

The  second  century  yielded  almost  no  authors  of  note.  The  his- 
torian Suetonius  has  left  us  gossipy  biographies  of  the  first  twelve 
Caesars.  These  have  been  well  translated.  We  have  also  a  few 
sprightly  translations  of  ''The  Golden  Ass,"  of  Apuleius,  which  is 
of  interest  because  it  is  one  of  the  earliest  works  in  the  field  of  the 
novel  and  also  because  it  contains  the  story  of  Cupid  and  Psyche. 
This  story  has  been  used  by  William  Morris  in  his  ''Earthly  Par- 
adise," and  also  by  Walter  Pater  in  his  "Marius  the  Epicurean," 
which  presents  a  splendid  picture  of  the  times,  especially  of  the 
Emperor  Marcus  Aurelius.  The  slender  volume  of  "Meditations" 
written  in  Greek  by  Marcus  Aurelius  has  always  been  highly  es- 
teemed. It  was  hastily  and  somewhat  carelessly  written,  but  it 
displays  the  inner  thoughts  of  a  wise  man,  whose  serenity,  gentle- 
ness, and  lofty  spirit  must  have  given  inspiration  to  countless 
readers  from  his  day  to  our  own. 

Minucius  Felix,  who  was  probably  a  contemporary  of  Marcus 
Aurelius,  has  left  a  brilliant  treatise  known  as  the  "Octavius,"  writ- 
ten in  classical  style  and  diction.  It  is  a  dialogue  and  an  apology 
for  the  Christian  religion.  Christian  Latin  poetry  is  presented  at  its 
best  in  the  collected  poems  of  Prudentius  Clemens  (early  fifth 
century),  the  finest  addition  to  Latin  lyrical  poetry  since  the 
times  of  Horace.  They  are  not  only  technically  correct  but  full  of 
life,  color,  and  brilliance. 

Though  the  great  day  of  Latin  literature  had  now  passed,  writing 
in  the  Latin  language,  as  Professor  Wendell  reminds  us,  continued. 

"As  the  official  language  of  the  Roman  Empire,  this  was  used  and 
more  or  less  understood  for  centuries  throughout  the  civilized  world. 
Except  for  the  prevalence  of  French  since  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV,  it 
has  never  been  even  remotely  approached  as  a  vehicle  of  communication 
among  Europeans  whose  native  languages  were  different.  Until  some- 
thing like  modern  times,  it  stayed  everywhere  the  standard  language  of 
law,  of  learning,  and  of  serious  literature.  The  'Divine  Comedy'  of 
Dante,  written  after  1300,  is  the  first  great  and  enduring  European  poem 


132 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


ever  composed  in  any  modern  tongue.    Even  in  the  nineteenth  century 
any  educated  European  could  be  assumed  able  to  decipher  a  Latin 


V 


iprsj  j>-ce» ^  rviori  ion  ) I raCl  e"cftvl»a  cO»» it^oi- 
fi  o Oc  nut*.  i>icxvaii^  9 1  r-jiO€"cI>UTT  »tvrvnvcurt  I  "i 

j-)iliv«.ocii\r-pijUcn"C-n:  ect^eaiK^  i^-^^^-itxri- 
\  i«.\cJiecvfcii-4t)rc  i»~av;<.Lclon\.xirc  u£>"t>ev'te 
r».^n-»pcvci-if-icei,v-ue«-JTtn-ut~ef  t  cuiT.t;U> 

is»i-»vjcyiviciMTPx»-»ii"Ccii^i:"piT >n:iT^d'f^«»  >  ' 

Cli  1  r  ^po  x:  r>^e  Cc  f^!)o  vI-Cjot  ^ix»-4  C»  um  Cr  Cot- 1 
c,Jot^»riciA  f-acJuTT  >^j'-iilocuix  ert  pCT-It01T>nr> 

TjCtxruCCclcfitiiT  .tui^FJtrOmux-  c»-»^v»x-n 
bcvp'CTfri  >ci  •jT^ai^Cti  >n~cii>»-jetx  rpecco  cor*"^ 

Ccixi  cl^tT-«F•ucvlr^l:fi^lCCtiI,;,^t^le'K»  ^cjrriCt-Rt  1 
v.4ulclfrT  )Ciclplt-r^nn  >Ct>C  Kai  c  lo  ^4trt^;^  J'lC 
'C»cireTCO'Mrii-mi.^C7o-i^C-»»  >rtvpiCTsjrr  Fior 

n  t  I'A  nt  Cf  rjUVlf  rf  tl.m-.JspW  SCO  pm  fFtiirMs(JE'n/)orr  J 

i>-»C"  cirt'>t^piH.>L>«-»t^c;j>i^t.\txJict».Tio*^CTT»i-'o 
r^iii  »-ixei~pCr  prM.>  j>i-»c.»i  liCfClxt  -KiotMroo 
«.d  tjCT^iiCr-iii-^  c  l>ii».n.ii(C>oti>»i  iyrxt^iviuTi> 


LATIN    MANUSCRIPT  OF  ABOUT   THE   SIXTH    CENTURY 


letter.  And  to  this  day,  as  everybody  knows,  Latin  remains  the  world- 
wide language  of  the  ancestral  Catholic  Church.  In  one  sense,  therefore, 
it  has  never  died." 

The  Latin  writings  of  Tertullian,  Athanasius,  Ambrose,  and 
other  Church  fathers  are  impressive  in  number  and  character. 
Jerome's  Latin  translation  of  the  Bible  has  already  been  mentioned. 


LATIN  LITERATURE  133 

St.  Augustine  (a.d.  354-430)  possessed  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
greatest  minds  in  the  history  of  human  thought ;  he  produced  real 
literature  both  as  regards  manner  and  matter,  and  he  gave  us  in  the 
"Confessions"  one  of  the  supreme  examples  of  intimate  biography. 
A  study  of  his  writings  reveals  clearly  the  ideas  of  his  day  and,  for 
that  matter,  the  thought  of  the  entire  ancient  world.  The  chief 
Italian  writers  who  followed  him  were  under  great  debt  to  St.  Augus- 
tine, and  the  same  is  true  of  French  critics  and  philosophers ;  his 
influence,  indeed,  is  strongly  felt  to  this  day. 

"The  Consolations  of  Philosophy"  has  sometimes  been  termed 
the  last  work  of  Roman  literature.  This  treatise  had  great  fame  in 
its  day  and  throughout  the  Middle  Ages.  It  was  written  in  five 
books,  alternately  in  prose  and  verse,  and  was  produced  in  prison 
early  in  the  sixth  century  by  the  Roman  philosopher  Boethius. 

Many  Latin  chants  and  hymns  have  been  widely  circulated. 
Goethe  makes  powerful  use  in  "Faust"  of  the  two  best-known  of 
these — the  "Mater  Dolorosa"  and  the  "Dies  Irae."  Both  date 
from  the  thirteenth  century.  Their  lyric  beauty  and  grandeur  are 
most  impressive  even  to  those  unfamiliar  with  Latin.  Over  two 
hundred  attempts  have  been  made  to  translate  into  English  the 
"Dies  Irae."  The  poem  proclaims  the  Day  of  Judgment.  We  give 
a  few  stanzas  in  the  original  and  in  the  translation  by  John  A.  Dix: 

"Dies  irae,  dies  ilia!  "Day  of  vengeance,  without  morrow  ! 

Solvet  saeclum  in  favilla,  Earth  shall  end  in  flame  and  sorrow, 

Teste  David  cum  Sybilla.  As  from  Saint  and  Seer  we  borrow. 


'Mors  stupebit,  et  natura,  "DeathandNature, mazed, arequaking. 

Quum  resurget  creatura,  When,  the  grave's  long  slumber 

Judicanti  responsura.  breaking, 

Man  to  judgment  is  awaking. 


"Judex  ergo  cum  sedebit,  "Sits  the  Judge, the  raised  arraigning, 

Quidquid  latet,  apparebit :  Darkest  mysteries  explaining, 

Nil  inultum  remanebit.  Nothing  unavenged  remaining. 


134  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"Quid  sum,  miser  !  tunc  dicturus,    "  What  shall  I  then  say,  unfriended, 
Quem  patronum  rogaturus,  By  no  advocate  attended, 

Quum  vix  Justus  sit  securus  ?         When  the  just  are  scarce  defended  ? 

"Rex  tremendae  majestatis,  "King  of  majesty  tremendous, 

Qui  salvandos  salvas  gratis,  By  Thy  saving  grace  defend  us, 

Salve  me,  fons  pietatis  ! "  Fount  of  pity,  safety  send  us  ! " 

Scholars  who  have  made  a  close  study  of  Latin  literature  have 
reached  an  interesting  conclusion :  that  through  the  entire  lit- 
erature, notwithstanding  the  differences  in  various  periods,  there  is 
a  striking  continuity,  whether  the  prose  of  Cicero  or  Erasmus  or  the 
poetry  of  Virgil  or  of  his  late  successors  be  brought  under  view. 

Reference  List 

Breasted.    Ancient  Times.     Ginn  and  Company. 

Gayley.    Classic  Myths.     Ginn  and  Company. 

Wendell.     Traditions   of   European   Literature   from   Homer   to   Dante. 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Duff.    A  Literary  History  of  Rome.     Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
DiMSDALE.    Latin  Literature.    D.  Appleton  and  Company. 
Mackail.    Latin  Literature.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
D'Alton.    Horace  and  his  Age.    Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 
HoLL.\ND.    Seneca.    Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 
O.xford  Book  of  Latin  Verse  gives  the  Latin  text  only.    Oxford  University 

Press. 
Tyrrell.    Latin  Poetry.    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 
Translations: 

/Eneid  (Williams).    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

Georgics  and  Eclogues  of  Virgil  (Williams).    Harvard  University  Press. 

Horace  (Theodore  Martin).    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Horace  (Field:  "Echoes  from  the  Sabine  Farm").     Charles  Scribner's 
Sons. 

Horace  (Courtauld).  Gives  Latin  and  English.  Bickers  and  Son,  London. 

Catullus  (Theodore  Martin).    William  Blackwood  &  Sons. 

Loeb  Classical  Library  gives  Latin  and  English  and  covers  many  of  the 
Latin  authors.    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 

Bohn  Library  covers  several  Latin  authors.  Harcourt,  Brace  &  Company. 

Suggested  Topics 

Relation  of  Latin  to  Greek  literature. 

Story  of  the  .^neid. 

Virgil's  "Eclogues"  compared  with  the  "Idyls"  of  Theocritus. 


LATIN  LITERATURE  135 


Cicero  on  old  age  and  friendship. 

The  use  of  Greek  mythology  by  Roman  writers. 

The  personality  of  Horace. 

Horace's  poetry. 

The  "Metamorphoses"  of  Ovid. 

Scenes  from  Livy. 

Marcus  Aurelius  and  his  philosophy  of  life. 

The  "Confessions"  of  St.  Augustine. 

Famous  Latin  hymns. 


CHAPTER  VI 

ITALIAN  LITERATURE 

Our  admiration  for  Italy  is  quickened  with  our  knowledge.  When 
Byron  sang  "O  Rome!  my  country!  city  of  the  soul!"  he  was 
thinking  perhaps  of  the  glories  of  the  ancient  time.  But  it  was  the 
same  Byron  who  knelt  at  the  tomb  of  Dante  in  Ravenna  and  wept. 
When  Browning  wrote 

"Open  my  heart  and  you  will  see 
Graved  inside  of  it,  'Italy,'" 

the  medieval  city  of  Florence  was  casting  its  spell  over  him ;  but 
Browning  was  also  giving  expression  to  his  feeling  for  the  beauty 
and  magic  of  modern  Italy.  Countless  associations  have  endeared 
this  land  to  men  of  all  generations  and  of  all  races. 

"Italy,"  says  Carlyle,  "has  produced  a  far  greater  number  of 
great  men  than  any  other  nation,  men  distinguished  in  art,  think- 
ing, conduct."  Richard  Garnett  names  "the  nine  Italians  most 
brilliantly  conspicuous  in  the  very  first  rank  of  genius  and  achieve- 
ment— Aquinas,  Dante,  Columbus,  Leonardo,  Michael  Angelo, 
Raphael,  Titian,  Galileo,  Napoleon,"  and  he  points  out  that  only 
one  of  these  is,  properly  speaking,  a  man  of  letters.  It  is  well  to  re- 
member, therefore,  that  in  dealing  with  the  literature  of  Italy  we 
are  exploring  only  a  single  aspect  of  Italy's  achievements. 

The  Italian  language.  The  break-up  of  the  Roman  Empire  left 
Italy  a  prey  to  the  barbarian  invaders.  For  a  thousand  years  her 
political  fortunes  have  been  complex  indeed.  Political  unity  has 
been  achieved  only  within  the  last  sixty  years,  but  unity  of  race, 
culture,  and  language  came  very  much  earlier.  The  Italian  language 
is  closer  to  Latin  than  are  the  other  Romance  languages  because 
the  cultural  tradition  was  naturally  strongest  in  Italy.    As  has  been 

136 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE  137 

explained  in  the  last  chapter,  Latin  slowly  merged  in  the  later  days 
of  Rome  into  the  softer  Italian  dialects — the  speech  of  the  people, 
which,  although  it  was  not  the  language  of  the  courts  or  of  letters 


FLORENCE  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  LUCA  DELLA  ROBBIA 

or  of  the  Church,  in  due  time  gained  the  ascendancy.  The  earliest 
Italian  literature  was  written  in  various  dialects.  The  Tuscan 
speech  that  Dante  used,  the  purest  and  the  most  closely  related  to 
Latin  of  the  dialects  of  Italy,  became,  through  Dante's  marvelous 


138  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

literary  power  and  influence,  the  cultivated  speech  of  all  Italy.  What 
Dante  began,  the  great  Humanist  and  poet  Petrarch,  and  the  first 
writer  of  classic  Italian  prose,  Boccaccio,  continued.  The  Italian 
language  used  by  these  three  Tuscans  continues  to  be  the  speech  of 
Italy,  and  it  possesses  a  unity  greater  than  that  of  any  other  liter- 
ary language  of  Europe.  It  is  in  every  way  the  worthy  successor  of 
Latin.  Dante  himself  voiced  his  admiration  for  it  by  commending 
"the  smoothness  of  its  syllables,  the  propriety  of  its  rules,  and  the 
sweet  discourses  that  are  made  of  it." 

The  Middle  Ages.  How  curious  a  thing  it  is  to  recall  that  the  peo- 
ple of  Italy,  richly  gifted  as  they  were,  clung  for  so  many  centuries 
to  the  traditions  of  the  past  and,  culturally  speaking,  produced  so 
little!  From  Boethius  to  Dante  is  a  longer  interval  than  from 
Dante  to  our  own  times.  The  Papacy  and  the  Empire,  the  Church 
and  the  State,  were  the  two  important  factors  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
The  Roman  Church  dominated  the  spiritual  life  of  the  people ;  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire  represented  the  temporal  power.  It  was  but  a 
pale  reflection  of  the  empire  of  Augustus,  and  yet  the  medieval  mind 
attached  great  significance  to  it.  The  Church  frequently  craved  tem- 
poral as  well  as  spiritual  overlordship.  With  so  much  at  stake  Pa- 
pacy and  Empire  found  themselves  set  over  against  each  other.  In 
Italy  the  term  "Guelf "  came  to  mean  the  popular  and  democratic 
element,  supported  by  the  Pope,  favored  by  the  cities,  opposed  to  an 
Empire  controlled  largely  by  foreigners ;  the  term  "Ghibelline"  the 
imperialist  element,  aristocratic  and  restrictive,  favored  by  the 
nobles  and  the  Emperor.  When  Dante  began  his  work,  Italy  was 
distracted  politically  and  was  in  danger  of  entire  dismemberment. 
Florence  was  torn  by  two  rival  factions  of  the  Guelfs. 

Yet  the  dawn  of  a  new  era  might  already  be  descried.  Dante's 
century,  the  thirteenth,  was  destined  to  be  famous.  In  addition  to 
Dante  himself,  the  philosopher  and  theologian  Thomas  Aquinas, 
Francis  of  Assisi,  and  the  painter  Giotto  were  stars  of  the  first  mag- 
nitude. The  rise  of  the  free  cities  of  Italy  meant  a  greater  degree 
of  popular  government.  Learning,  though  still  cramped  within 
narrow  bounds,  was  eagerly  sought  after.  Life  became  richer. 
Literature  found  lyric  expression  in  the  language  of  the  people. 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE  139 

The  precursors  of  Dante.  For  a  generation  or  so  before  the 
century  commenced,  troubadours  were  familiar  figures  in  northern 
Italy,  and  Provengal  poems  were  common.^  The  first  authentic 
lyric  poetry  in  Italian  consisted  of  love  poems  produced  in  Sicily 
under  the  encouragement  of  the  Emperor  Frederick  IL  Some  of 
the  choicest  of  these  and  of  the  love  songs  of  Tuscany,  written  after 
the  middle  of  the  century,  have  been  exquisitely  translated  by  the 
English  poet  Dante  Gabriel  Rossetti  and  gathered  into  a  volume 
entitled  "Dante  and  his  Circle."  Guido  Cavalcanti  and  Cino  da 
Pistoia  were  the  most  gifted  of  these  lyric  poets  and  were  close 
friends  of  Dante.  The  most  common  poetical  forms  were  three: 
(i)  the  canzone,  consisting  of  a  poem  made  up  of  twelve-line  or 
thirteen-line  stanzas  with  an  elaborate  riming  scheme ;  (2)  the  son- 
net, a  poetic  form  well  known  in  English  literature  and  borrowed  by 
English  writers  from  the  Italian — a  well-knit  poem  complete  in 
fourteen  lines;  and  (3)  the  ballata,  consisting  of  a  poem  of  two  or 
more  stanzas,  of  which  the  theme  was  set  forth  in  the  opening  stanza. 

Dante 

Of  all  the  poets  who  have  trod  the  soil  of  Italy,  Dante  is  easily 
the  greatest :  greater  than  his  predecessor  Virgil,  whose  name  he 
venerated  so  highly ;  greater  than  his  near  contemporary  Chaucer, 
who  was  in  Italy  in  1372  ;  greater  than  Milton,  who  visited  Flor- 
ence three  centuries  after  Dante's  death  ;  greater  than  the  German 
poet  Goethe,  who,  after  years  of  hope  deferred,  finally  reached  Italy 
in  1786 ;  greater  than  Keats  or  Shelley  or  Browning,  whose  names 
we  associate  with  the  Italy  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Dante's  in- 
fluence was  profound  in  his  own  day,  and  after  six  centuries  it  is  still 
increasing.  Paget  Toynbee's  two  large  volumes  on  "Dante  in  Eng- 
lish Literature  from  Chaucer  to  Cary  ( 1380-1844)  "  include  quota- 
tions from  almost  six  hundred  authors  who  refer  to  Dante.  The 
number  of  Dante  studies  since  Gary's  day  has  been  legion.  Ameri- 
cans may  well  be  proud  of  their  representatives  among  Dante 
scholars  and  of  the  Dante  collections  in  this  country — that  of  Cor- 
nell University,  for  example,  with  over  seven  thousand  entries.  As 
iSee  chapter  on  French  literature. 


140  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

James  Russell  Lowell  says,  "Dante's  readers  turn  students,  his 
students  zealots,  and  what  was  a  taste  becomes  a  religion." 

Dante  Alighicri  was  born  in  Florence  in  1265  and  made  his 
home  in  that  city  until  his  exile  in  1302.  His  youth  was  glorified 
by  his  overmastering  love  for  Beatrice  Portinari,  whom  he  first  met 
at  the  end  of  his  ninth  year.  She  was  clad,  as  he  tells  us,  in  a  dress 
"of  a  most  noble  color,  a  modest  and  becoming  crimson,  and  she 
was  girt  and  adorned  in  such  wise  as  befitted  her  youthful  age." 
After  the  passage  of  another  nine  years  "it  happened,"  he  says, 
"that  this  admirable  lady  appeared  to  me  clothed  in  purest  white, 
between  two  gentle  ladies  who  were  of  greater  age."  The  pure, 
idealizing  love  that  he  bore  her  is  recorded  in  that  most  tender  and 
poetic  of  autobiographies,  the  "Vita  Nuova"  ("New  Life").  It 
gives  few  incidents  beyond  the  salutations  and  gracious  greetings 
that  passed  between  them.  Beatrice  is  really  an  abstract  ideal  of 
love  and  beauty.  Dante  wrote  his  "New  Life,"  or  "regeneration," 
in  prose,  with  thirty-one  verse  interruptions,  which  are  treated  as 
deliberate  studies  in  poetic  expression.  The  poems  are  similar  in 
form  to  those  of  his  fellow  poets  but  more  intense  and  beautiful. 
As  the  "New  Life"  is  fashioned  under  his  hands,  Dante  gains  in 
mastery  and  power.  From  passionate  youth  he  moves  toward 
thoughtful  manhood.^  At  the  close,  writing  under  the  shadow  of 
Beatrice's  death  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  Dante  tells  us  that  he 
has  determined  to  write  no  further  of  her  until  such  time  as  he  can 
"discourse  more  worthily  concerning  her.  And  to  this  end  I  labor 
all  I  can :  as  she  well  knoweth.  Wherefore  if  it  be  His  pleasure 
through  whom  is  the  life  of  all  things,  that  my  life  continue  with 
me  a  few  years,  it  is  my  hope  that  I  shall  yet  write  concerning  her 
what  hath  not  yet  before  been  written  of  any  woman." 

Like  the  other  men  of  his  day  Dante  had  a  passion  for  knowl- 
edge. The  learning  of  the  schools  comprised  seven  fundamentals : 
grammar,  dialectic,  rhetoric,  arithmetic,  music,  geometry,  and  as- 
trology. Higher  education  included  physics,  metaphysics,  logic, 
ethics,  and  theology.  Aristotle  was  the  master  in  science  and  phi- 
losophy, and  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  in  theology.  The  Ptolemaic  ideas 
1  This  may  be  seen  by  a  reading  of  Rossetti's  sympathetic  translation. 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE  141 

of  astronomy  prevailed ;  and  the  astronomy  of  the  age  was  as- 
trology, as  the  chemistry  was  alchemy.  According  to  their  lights, 
however,  the  men  of  the  thirteenth  century  were  deeply  learned. 
Dante,  with  his  powers  of  concentration,  his  close  observation  of 
men  and  nature,  and  ultimately  his  wide  experience  with  life  in 
various  parts  of  Italy  and  possibly  in  such  distant  centers  as  Paris 
and  Oxford,  absorbed  and  made  use  of  all  the  wisdom  of  his  age. 
His  is  the  great  medieval  mind.  His  works  display  familiarity  with 
all  the  Latin  writers  of  consequence,  especially  Virgil,  Cicero,  and 
Boethius,  and  with  the  Greek  writers  at  second  hand.  He  probably 
knew  Hebrew  and  Arabic  to  some  extent.  His  Biblical  and  theo- 
logical learning  was  profound.  Well-nigh  fifteen  hundred  names  of 
persons  in  history,  literature,  and  mythology,  of  geographical  loca- 
tions, and  other  references  appear  in  the  "Divine  Comedy"  alone. 

The  outward  events  of  Dante's  life  may  be  soon  told.  Two  years 
after  the  death  of  Beatrice  he  married  Gemma  Donati,  a  Florentine 
woman  of  good  family.  He  had  a  distinguished  public  career,  par- 
ticipated in  a  military  campaign,  and  held  a  civic  office.  While  he 
was  on  a  mission  to  Rome,  the  civil  dissensions  in  Florence  came  to 
a  head.  His  house  was  pillaged,  his  property  was  confiscated,  and  a 
sentence  of  banishment  (never  repealed)  was  passed  upon  him. 
This  was  in  1302.  From  that  time  until  his  death  in  132 1  Dante 
lived  the  life  of  an  exile.  He  never  reentered  Florence  nor  saw 
again  his  wife  and  children.  It  was  his  fate  to  wander  from  place 
to  place  in  poverty  and  loneliness.  "Since  it  was  the  pleasure,"  he 
writes  in  the  "Convito,"  "of  the  citizens  of  the  most  beauteous 
and  the  most  famous  daughter  of  Rome,  Florence,  to  cast  me  forth 
from  her  most  sweet  bosom  .  .  .  ,  through  well-nigh  all  the  regions 
whereto  this  tongue  extends,  a  wanderer,  almost  a  beggar,  have  I 
paced.  .  .  .  Verily  have  I  been  a  ship  without  sail  and  without 
rudder,  drifted  upon  ports  and  straits  and  shores  by  the  dry  wind 
that  grievous  poverty  exhales."  In  this  rigorous  school  of  adversity 
Dante's  character  became  finely  tempered  and  noble.  Sorely  tried 
as  he  was,  his  faith  in  a  divine  order  of  things  and  in  the  ultimate 
justice  of  God  was  triumphant.  He  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-six  in 
the  old  city  of  Ravenna,  and  there  he  lies  buried,  though  the  city  of 


142  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

his  birth  has  vainly  sought  the  honor  of  harboring  the  remains  of 
her  son,  the  greatest  of  the  Italian  race. 

Carlyle's  impression  of  the  portrait  of  Dante,  which  he  attrib- 
uted, incorrectly,  to  Giotto,  is  ever  memorable: 

"To  me  it  is  a  most  touching  face ;  perhaps  of  all  faces  that  I  know, 
the  most  so.  Lonely  there,  painted  as  on  vacancy,  with  the  simple  laurel 
wound  round  it;  the  deathless  sorrow  and  pain,  the  known  victory 
which  is  also  deathless  ;— significant  of  the  whole  history  of  Dante  1 
I  think  it  is  the  mournfulest  face  that  ever  was  painted  from  reality; 
an  altogether  tragic,  heart-affecting  face.  There  is  in  it,  as  foundation 
of  it,  the  softness,  tenderness,  gentle  affection  as  of  a  child ;  but  all  this 
is  as  if  congealed  into  sharp  contradiction,  into  abnegation,  isolation, 
proud  hopeless  pain." 

Dante's  writings  are  inseparably  connected  with  his  life.  The 
autobiographical  character  of  the  "New  Life"  has  already  been 
mentioned.  All  his  writings  are  autobiographies.  ''II  Convito,"  or 
"The  Banquet,"  begun  as  early  as  1300,  is  the  natural  successor  to 
the  "New  Life."  As  planned  it  was  to  contain  fourteen  sections, 
each  introduced  by  a  canzone  and  followed  by  prose  comment  or 
explanation.  Love  and  virtue  were  the  themes,  and  the  interpreta- 
tion was  philosophical.  Dante  tells  us  that  in  "The  Banquet"  he 
is  to  serve  to  us  the  crumbs  of  learning  he  has  picked  up.  The  work 
was  also  intended  to  clear  his  name  from  certain  imputations  which 
had  arisen  because  of  his  earlier  MTiting.  "The  Banquet,"  like  the 
"New  Life,"  is  in  Italian.  Only  four  sections  were  produced,  and 
these  were  completed  in  1306  or  1308.  His  next  writing  was  a 
Latin  treatise,  "De  Vulgari  Eloquentia."  In  this  Dante  explains 
that  the  Italian  language  is  splendidly  adapted  to  prose  and  poetry 
alike  and  well  suited  to  the  worthiest  subjects.  He  also  gives  a 
minute  description  of  the  Italian  poetic  forms.  This  treatise,  be- 
gun in  1304,  was  never  finished.  "De  Monarchia,"  also  in  Latin, 
written  between  13 10  and  13 14,  expresses  Dante's  political  faith. 
He  was  an  idealist  in  politics,  as  in  love.  The  Empire  was  to  him  a 
power  supreme  over  the  earthly  interests  of  mankind,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  Church  was  supreme  in  the  field  of  the  spirit.  He 
e.xplains  in  "De  INIonarchia"  that  universal  empire  is  necessary, 


dante's  tomb 


144  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

thai  il  was  by  God's  will  that  the  Romans  secured  their  authority, 
and  that  this  authority  is  in  fact  derived  from  God  himself. 

The  "Divine  Comedy"  was  the  central  interest  of  Dante's  life. 
He  fortunately  lived  to  complete  it.  The  Middle  Ages  stand  re- 
vealed in  this  magnificent  work.  Dante  called  it  a  comedy  because 
of  its  fortunate  ending  ;  the  world  has  called  it  divine  because  of  its 
spiritual  theme.  The  journey  so  marvelously  described  by  Dante 
was  taken,  as  he  tells  us,  when  he  had  reached  "the  summit  of  the 
arch  of  life,"— namely,  during  his  thirty-fifth  year, — and  an  even 
more  defmite  reference  places  its  beginning  on  the  night  before 
Good  Friday  of  the  year  1300.  The  three  divisions,  or  canticles, 
refer  to  the  poet's  experiences  in  three  worlds — Hell,  Purgatory, 
and  Paradise.  About  live  days  are  consumed  in  the  entire  journey. 
Each  canticle  ends  with  the  words  "the  stars"  and  each  contains 
thirty-three  divisions,  or  cantos,  with  an  introductory  canto  preced- 
ing the  poem.  Thus  the  cantos  total  one  hundred,  which  is  regarded 
as  a  perfect  number.  The  cantos  are  of  almost  uniform  length — 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  verses  each.  The  whole  is  written 
in  terza  rinia,  a  poetic  form  consisting  of  iambic  verses  generally 
eleven  syllables  long,  with  a  fixed  riming  scheme :  aba,  bcb,  cdc, 
drd,  etc.,  the  middle  line  of  each  three-line  set  riming  with  the  first 
and  third  of  the  one  following.^ 

— Back  of  Dante  were  Homer  and  Virgil,  both  of  whom  had  dealt 
with  the  spirit  world.  Odysseus  travels  beyond  the  Ocean-stream 
and  there  on  a  rough  shore  linds  Hades.  He  does  not  enter,  but  he 
converses  with  the  spirits  of  the  dead  and  returns  as  he  came. 
Hades  itself  is  only  vaguely  described,  but  at  the  entrance  four 
rivers  and  other  natural  features  are  mentioned,  including  Tartarus, 
a  gloomy  gulf.  It  is  the  abode  of  all  the  dead  and  is  not,  properly 
speaking,  a  place  of  positive  suffering,  but  more  like  the  Hebrew 
underworld,  Sheol.  Virgil  makes  ^Eneas  enter  the  underworld 
through  a  huge  cave  near  Lake  Avernus  and  return  by  the  ivory 
gate  of  dreams.  His  description  is  particular :  a  gloomy  wood  at  the 
entrance,  peopled  by  monsters;  a  neutral  region  across  a  stream; 
beyond  this,  Tartarus,  Pluto's  palace,  and  Elysium.  There  isacare- 

>  Shelley's  "Ode  to  the  West  Wind"  is  a  good  example  of  this  poetic  form. 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE  145 

ful  classification  of  the  spirits.  In  the  neutral  zone  we  encounter 
no  suffering.  The  punishment  in  the  region  beyond  is  not  endless, 
but  is  designed  to  cleanse  the  soul  and  to  prepare  it  for  Elysium. 


DANTE    DETAIL    FROM    RAPHAELS    FRESCO       THE   POETS    ON    MOLTNT 
PARNASSUS" 

What  is  Dante's  conception  ?  The  earth  is  a  sphere  at  the  center 
of  the  entire  universe.  The  northern  hemisphere  is  inhabited,  and 
the  center  of  this  is  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  midway  between  the 


146  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

river  Ganges  and  the  Pillars  of  Hercules.  Beneath  is  Hell,  an  in- 
verted cone  with  the  apex  at  the  center  of  the  earth.  Descent  is 
made  by  nine  narrowing  circles.  Lucifer,  the  fallen  seraph,  is  im- 
prisoned at  the  earth's  center.  The  southern  hemisphere  is  a  waste 
of  waters,  on  which  rises  the  mountain  of  Purgatory,  at  the  direct 
antipodes  of  Jerusalem.  Purgatory  is  the  second  realm  of  the  dead, 
where  "the  human  spirit  is  purified,  and  becomes  worthy  to  ascend 
to  heaven."  In  the  first  realm  descent  is  made  to  the  left,  and  the 
horrors  increase  with  the  descent;  in  Purgatory  the  ledges  are 
ascended  to  the  right,  and  purification  is  complete  when  the  Earthly 
Paradise  is  reached  at  the  summit.  Revolving  about  the  earth  are 
the  heavens  of  the  Moon,  Mercury,  Venus,  the  Sun,  Mars,  Jupiter, 
Saturn,  the  Fixed  Stars,  and  the  Crystalline  Heaven.  Beyond  is 
the  motionless  Empyrean,  or  Heaven  of  Pure  Light,  where  dwell 
all  the  redeemed  and  the  Eternal  One,  mover  of  the  Universe. 

However  fantastic  this  general  scheme  may  seem  to  our  age,  to 
Dante  and  his  age  it  was  real.  The  women  of  Ravenna  observed 
the  poet,  we  are  told,  as  he  walked  their  streets,  and  they  wondered 
at  the  man  who  had  been  in  Hell.  Dante's  intense  earnestness  and 
sincerity  have  impressed  all  his  readers.  He  makes  the  unseen  world 
real ;  what  he  felt  we  feel,  and  what  he  saw  we  see.  He  was  both  a 
mystic  and  a  realist.  Like  the  Hebrew  prophet  or  the  Christian 
apostle  he  was  thoroughly  conscious  of  eternity. 

No  other  work  of  literature  repays  a  careful  study  to  the  same 
extent  as  does  the  "Divine  Comedy."  Everything  requisite  is  pro- 
vided by  any  one  of  the  many  good  introductions  to  Dante  and  then 
by  a  thoughtful  reading,  with  the  explanatory  notes,  of  the  Longfel- 
low or  Cary  or  the  recent  Langdon  verse  translation,  or  the  eloquent 
prose  version  of  Charles  Eliot  Norton.  The  narrative  itself,  first  of 
all,  captures  the  imagination.  The  poet  finds  himself  in  a  dark 
wood,  beset  by  three  beasts,  and  is  rescued  by  the  poet  Virgil,  who, 
sent  by  Beatrice  to  conduct  Dante  through  Hell  and  up  the  mount 
of  Purgatory  to  the  Celestial  Paradise,  becomes  his  willing  guide. 
Onward  they  go,  through  the  gate  of  Hell,  across  the  river  Styx,  to 
the  city  of  Dis,  the  lake  of  blood,  the  burning  plain  of  Phlegethon. 
They  see  innumerable  forms  of  punishment,  and  converse  with  each 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE  147 

other  and  with  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  Arrived  at  the  center  of  the 
earth,  they  leave  the  horrors  of  Hell  and  traverse  the  passageway 
beyond  Lucifer  to  the  mount  of  Purgatory.  Here  they  witness 
many  forms  of  temporary  punishment,  while  Virgil  instructs  Dante 
as  to  the  meaning  of  what  is  displayed  to  their  eyes.  Spirits  crowd 
upon  them  and  rehearse  their  own  history  and  prophesy  of  things 
to  come.  Then,  as  Virgil  disappears,  there  is  the  vision  of  the  glori- 
fied Beatrice.  The  upward  ascent  displays  celestial  happiness  in 
various  degrees.  Beatrice  instructs  Dante  in  matters  of  religion  and 
faith.  Finally  there  are  disclosed  the  highest  Empyrean  and  the 
vision  of  God. 

In  the  second  place,  the  poetic  imagery  impresses  us.  The  style 
adapts  itself  marvelously  to  the  subject.  It  is  sometimes  harsh  and 
boisterous,  frequently  gentle  and  placid.  Strong,  tender,  musical, 
picturesque,  as  the  case  may  be,  its  appropriateness  of  form  is  al- 
ways evident.  The  hopelessness  of  Hell,  the  upward  striving  of  the 
souls  in  Purgatory,  the  joy  and  love  of  Paradise,  are  wonderfully 
presented.  Dante's  personality  is  in  some  respects  the  chief  inter- 
est of  the  poem.  He  is  on  occasion  severe  and  satirical ;  he  hates 
treachery;  he  condemns  the  weak  and  indifferent.  He  has  a  lofty 
mind  and  a  strong,  masculine  spirit.  If  he  hates  evil,  he  loves  the 
good.  He  has  the  tenderness  and  at  times  the  simplicity  of  a  child. 
He  believes  in  humanity  and  takes  a  deep  interest  in  man's  prob- 
lems. Beatrice  is  to  him  a  gracious  vision  of  all  that  is  choicest 
in  womanhood. 

Note  the  extraordinary  vividness  of  Dante's  word  pictures : 

"I,  who  was  gazing,  saw  a  banner,  which  whirling,  ran  so  swiftly 
that  it  seemed  to  me  disdainful  of  any  pause,  and  behind  it  came  so 
long  a  train  of  folk,  that  I  should  never  have  believed  death  had  undone 
so  many." 

"I  found  myself  on  the  brink  of  the  woeful  valley  of  the  abyss 
which  collects  a  thunder  of  infinite  waitings." 

"We  came  to  a  place  where  the  boatman  loudly  shouted  to  us  :  'Get 
ye  out,  here  is  the  entrance.'  Upon  the  gates  I  saw  more  than  a  thou- 
sand of  those  rained  down  from  heaven  who  angrily  were  saying  :  'Who 
is  this,  that  without  death  goes  through  the  realm  of  the  dead  folk?'" 


148  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"I  saw  behind  us  a  black  devil  come  running  up  along  the  crag. 
Ah !  how  fell  he  was  in  aspect,  and  how  bitter  he  seemed  to  me  in  act, 
with  his  wings  open,  and  light  upon  his  feet  !"^ 

Dante's  similes  and  references  to  nature  are  justly  famous.  He 
speaks  of  "the  flowerlets,  bent  and  closed  by  the  chill  of  night"; 
of  the  impetuous  wind  which  strikes  the  forest,  shatters  the 
branches,  and,  laden  with  dust,  "goes  superb,  and  makes  the  wild 
beasts  and  the  shepherd  fly"  ;  of  a  troop  of  souls  which  came  "look- 
ing at  us,  as  a  man  is  wont  to  look  at  another  at  evening  under  the 
new  moon,"  sharpening  their  brows  "toward  us  as  the  old  tailor 
does  on  the  needle's  eye";  of  man's  obligation  to  "stand  like  a 
firm  tower  that  never  wags  its  top  for  blowing  of  the  winds";  of 
the  stork  who  "circles  above  her  nest  after  she  has  fed  her  brood" ; 
of  "the  daws,  at  the  beginning  of  the  day,"  which  "move  about 
together,  in  order  to  warm  their  cold  feathers";  and  of  the  bird 
which  "with  ardent  affection  awaits  the  sun,  fixedly  waiting  till  the 
dawn  may  break."  For  his  figures  he  draws  upon  his  observation 
of  the  falcon,  the  goats,  the  sheep,  the  herdsman,  the  cook's  assist- 
ant watching  the  boiling  broth,  the  sapling  hissing  in  the  fire,  the 
fireflies  in  the  summer  twilight.  Our  admiration  is  also  awakened 
by  the  many  definite  pictures  of  places  and  scenes  in  Italy. 

Most  remarkable  of  all  are  the  pen  portraitures  of  persons. 
A  few  words  serve  to  fix  a  character  for  all  time,  as  of  the  one  "who 
was  straightening  himself  up  with  breast  and  front  as  though  he  had 
Hell  in  great  scorn"  ;  of  "the  schoolmaster  Brunetto  Latini,  with  his 
words  of  wisdom,  "If  thou  follow  thy  star,  thou  canst  not  miss  the 
glorious  port";  of  Paolo  and  Francesca,  regarding  whom  books 
could  be  written — and  have  been  written ;  of  Jason,  who  "  seems 
not  to  shed  a  tear  for  pain" ;  of  that  other,  who  "gazes  around  him, 
all  bewildered  by  the  great  anguish  that  he  has  suffered,  and,  as  he 
looks,  sighs";  of  Brutus — "see  how  he  writhes  and  says  not  a 
word" ;  of  Cato,  whose  face  was  adorned  with  "the  rays  of  the  four 
holy  stars";  of  Sordello,  holding  himself  "lofty  and  disdainful"; 
of  Cain,  whose  voice  "seemed  like  lightning  when  it  cleaves  the 

1  Translations  by  Charles  Eliot  Norton. 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE  149 

air,  saying:  'Everj^one  that  findeth  me  shall  slay  me'";  of  the 
active  Leah,  the  contemplative  Rachel,  and  the  virtuous  Matilda ; 
and,  finally,  of  the  glorious  lady  of  Dante's  dreams :  ''Look  at  me 
well :  I  am,  indeed,  I  am,  indeed,  Beatrice."  The  canvas  is  crowded 
to  overflowing  with  persons  famous  in  literature  and  in  sacred  and 
profane  history,  and  likewise  with  obscure  persons  who  have  some- 
how come  within  the  ken  of  Dante  and  thus  have  been  rendered 
immortal. 

In  the  third  place,  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  read  the  "Divine 
Comedy  "  not  only  for  the  story  or  for  the  poetic  genius  displayed 
but  for  the  inner  meaning.  The  poem  has  deep  significance ;  it  is 
more  elaborate  and  more  complete  in  execution  than  any  other 
work  of  literature.  Every  circle  in  Hell,  every  ledge  in  Purgatory, 
every  sphere  in  Paradise,  has  its  import.  The  souls  in  Hell  are  in 
opposition  to  God  and  are  suffering  because  of  weakness  (the  upper 
circles)  or  depravity  (the  lower  circles)  ;  and  the  depraved  souls 
are,  of  course,  more  severely  punished.  In  a  marvelous  way  it  is 
represented  that  the  punishment  is  not  only  appropriate  to  the  crime 
but  actually  is  the  crime.  The  souls  in  Purgatory  are  striving  to 
fulfill  the  will  of  God.  While  their  punishment  may  be  intense,  it 
is  bringing  about  purification.  Virgil,  symbolizing  wisdom  or  rea- 
son, can  guide  Dante,  or  mankind,  a  long  way  on  his  journey,  but 
mankind  must  be  enlightened  by  revealed  truth  (symbolized  by 
Beatrice)  before  Paradise  may  be  achieved.  The  life  in  Paradise 
is  the  life  with  God,  and  God  is  light,  life,  and  truth.  The  wonder- 
ful conception  of  light  used  with  increasing  effect  in  the  "Paradise" 
must  impress  every  reader.  In  Paradise  the  souls  have  a  position 
significant  of  the  state  of  sanctity  which  they  have  reached,  but  all 
have  their  natural  place  in  the  Rose  of  the  Empyrean. 

Dante  thinks  of  life  as  a  continuous  spiritual  experience,  and  he 
strives  to  solve  its  mystery.  In  his  own  words  we  learn  that  his 
purpose  is  "to  remove  those  living  in  this  life  from  a  state  of  woe, 
and  to  lead  them  into  a  state  of  joy!"  Again  he  says,  "If  the 
work  be  taken  allegorically  its  subject  is  Man,  in  so  far  as  by  merit 
or  demerit  in  the  exercise  of  free  will  he  is  exposed  to  the  rewards 
or  punishments  of  justice."    As  the  symbol  of  the  poem  is  unfolded 


150  LI  IKRAl  LRE  OF  THE  WORLD 

we  discover  that  the  soul  of  man,  first  lost  and  astray,  finds  itself,  is 
purified,  and  is  united  with  God  in  its  degree  of  realizing  him ;  or 
else  is  separated  and  hopeless. 

The  "Divine  Comedy"  is  capable  of  a  political  explanation,  an 
ethical  explanation,  and  a  personal  explanation.  The  last  is  perhaps 
the  most  interesting  to  us.  This  great  poem  has  been  termed  the 
epic  of  the  soul  of  man,  or  the  allegory  of  a  human  life.  Man  mounts 
from  Hell  to  the  Empyrean,  from  doubt  and  confusion  to  a  cer- 
tainty of  God's  loving-kindness.  Thus  there  is  always  the  universal 
note  in  Dante.  His  doctrinal  ideas,  or  the  prejudices  or  opinions  of 
his  age,  are  not  of  first  importance.  But  the  insight,  the  sincerity, 
and  the  broad  humanity  of  Dante  endear  him  to  us.  When  he 
speaks  of  things  of  the  conscience,  he  appeals  to  men  of  every  age. 
Homer,  Dante,  and  Milton  summed  up  the  experiences  of  the  ages 
in  which  they  lived.  Each  had  commanding  genius,  but  perhaps 
Ruskin's  opinion  is  the  true  one :  "The  central  man  of  all  the  world, 
as  representing  in  perfect  balance  the  imaginative,  moral,  and  in- 
tellectual faculties,  all  at  their  highest,  is  Dante." 

Petrarch  and  Boccaccio 

Viewed  chronologically,  Dante's  successors,  Petrarch  and  Boc- 
caccio, belonged  to  the  same  period  as  himself,  for  the  former  was 
seventeen  and  the  latter  eight  years  old  when  Dante  died ;  but  ac- 
tually they  represent  modern  times,  while  Dante  breathes  the  spirit 
of  the  Middle  Ages.  With  Petrarch  humanistic  enthusiasm  takes 
the  place  of  scholasticism  and  theology.  The  old  order  has  def- 
initely passed,  and  the  Renaissance  in  Italy  has  begun.  By  the 
term  "Renaissance"  we  mean  the  entire  transition  from  medieval 
to  modern  times,  involving  intellectual  new  birth,  religious  reform, 
political  changes  (including  the  decline  of  feudalism),  the  invention 
of  printing,  and  the  discover}-  of  the  New  World.  The  Revival  of 
Learning  is  an  important  part  of  this  movement.  It  signifies  the  re- 
discovery of  Greek  and  Roman  classics  and  art  and  the  means  of 
rendering  them  accessible  to  all.  The  Humanists  were  scholars  who 
devoted  their  energies  to  the  restoration  of  the  culture  of  the  past. 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE 


151 


Of  these  Francesco  Petrarca,  or  Petrarch,  was  the  first  and  is  gen- 
erally esteemed  as  the  most  important. 

Petrarch.  The  father  of  Petrarch  was  a  friend  of  Dante  and 
was  exiled  from  Florence  by  the  same  decree  and  on  the  same  day 
as  Dante.  Francesco  was  born  in  Arezzo,  July  20,  1304.  Nine 
years  later  the  family 
moved  to  Avignon,  in 
southern  France  on  the 
Rhone.  Here,  and  in  his 
house  at  Vaucluse  nearby, 
Petrarch  lived  at  intervals 
for  a  considerable  portion 
of  his  life.  He  was  a  rest- 
less spirit,  however,  aiid 
he  made  his  home  as  well 
in  Padua,  ]\Iilan,  Venice, 
and  other  places,  besides 
traveling  extensively.  In 
1370  he  settled  at  Arqua, 
and  there  four  years  later 
death  came  as  he  sat  in 
his  library  bending  over 
a  book. 

Petrarch  impresses  us 
as  essentially  a  modern 
man.  His  mind  was  sensi- 
tive and  open  to  all  ideas.  While  sincerely  religious,  he  was  not 
"other-worldly,"  for  he  regarded  life  as  a  precious  gift.  He  loved 
nature  for  its  own  sake.  Charming  pictures  of  his  home  at  Vau- 
cluse abound  in  his  letters.  On  his  travels  he  reports,  "Would 
that  you  could  know  with  what  delight  I  wander,  free  and  alone, 
among  the  mountains,  forests,  and  streams."  In  another  place  he 
writes:  "Today  I  made  the  ascent  of  the  highest  mountain  in  this 
region.  .  .  .  My  only  motive  was  the  wish  to  see  what  so  great  an 
elevation  had  to  offer."  His  accounts  of  his  travels  in  Germany  and 
France  are  most  entertaining.  Of  his  studies  we  have  very  complete 


4 

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PETRARCH 


152  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

information.  These  were  confined  to  literature,  history,  and  phi- 
losophy. He  loved  the  classics  and  had  a  lively  sense  of  their  beauty. 
Cicero  and  all  the  Latin  poets  he  made  his  own ;  of  Greek  he  knew 
little,  to  his  great  regret,  but  he  read  the  major  Greek  classics  in 
translation.  The  spell  that  Aristotle  had  cast  over  men's  minds 
meant  little  to  him.  He  thought  him  a  great  man,  but  still  a  man, 
and  one  who  made  frequent  errors.  Aristotle,  he  said,  ''was  so  com- 
pletely ignorant  of  true  happiness  that  the  opinions  upon  this  mat- 
ter of  any  pious  old  woman  or  devout  fisherman,  shepherd,  or 
farmer  would,  if  not  so  finespun,  be  more  to  the  point  than  his." 

The  library  of  Petrarch  was  famous.  He  hoped  that  it  would  be 
in  time  the  nucleus  of  a  noble  collection  of  books.  But  he  was  no 
mere  pedant.  ''If  you  would  win  glory  from  your  books,"  he  said, 
"you  must  know  them  and  not  merely  have  them ;  must  stow  them 
away,  not  in  your  library,  but  in  your  memory." 

Petrarch  had  a  great  capacity  for  friendship  and  a  winning  per- 
sonality. Among  his  friends  he  numbered  a  great  many  Italians 
and  other  Europeans.  The  sadness  of  his  later  years  was  due 
largely  to  the  fact  that  he  had  outlived  so  many  persons  whom  he 
had  held  dear.  The  Italy  of  his  day  was  in  a  wretched  state  of 
disruption,  and  Petrarch,  like  Dante,  passionately  longed  for  polit- 
ical unity  for  his  country,  with  Rome  as  its  center.  Rome,  in  fact, 
had  a  great  fascination  for  him.  Undoubtedly  the  chief  moment 
of  his  life  came  when  in  1341  he  received  the  laurel  crown  as  a 
poet  at  the  Capitol  in  Rome  and  thus  became  a  national  figure. 

The  writings  of  Petrarch  were  voluminous.  Most  of  them  were 
in  Latin,  for  he  did  not  seem  to  understand  the  destiny  of  Italian 
as  a  literary  language.  In  Latin  prose  he  wrote  literary  treatises, 
historical  anecdotes,  lives  of  famous  men,  and  hundreds  of  letters 
personal  and  otherwise.  His  letters  are  delightfully  presented  in 
Robinson  and  Rolfe's  "  Petrarch."  His  Latin  verse  included  eclogues, 
metrical  epistles,  and  an  epic  entitled  "Africa,"  famous  in  its  day. 
After  his  own  generation  Petrarch's  Latin  writings  had  relatively 
slight  circulation.  Not  so,  however,  his  Italian  verses,  the  "Can- 
zoniere,"  written  in  honor  of  Laura.  Of  these  there  have  been  some 
four  hundred  editions. 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE 


153 


Laura,  Petrarch  tells  us,  he  saw  first  in  his  early  manhood, 
April  6,  1327,  in  the  church  of  Santa  Clara  at  Avignon.  Her  death 
occurred  twenty-one  years  later  to  the  very  day.  The  identity  of 
Laura  is  not  certain,  but  she  is  a  thing  of  flesh  and  blood,  not  an 
abstraction  or  a  personification  as  Dante's  Beatrice  came  to  be. 
Petrarch's  love  for  her  was  unfeigned,  and  his  lyrics  gave  genuine 
and  passionate  expression  to  his  love.    There  seems  to  have  been 


PETRARCH  S    HOUSE 


no  affection  on  her  part  for  him — she  was  the  faithful  wife  of 
another,  and  her  coldness  and  indifference  to  Petrarch  are  the 
frequent  theme  of  his  poems. 

"No  poet,"  says  Cayley,  one  of  the  translators  of  Petrarch's 
poems,  ''has  so  fully  represented  the  whole  world  of  love  in  every 
tone  and  variety  of  play  and  earnest,  delight  and  pain,  enthusiasm 
and  self-reproach,  expostulation,  rebellion,  submission,  adoration, 
and  friendship,  or  regret  and  religious  consolations  leading  grad- 
ually to  another  sphere  of  hope  and  devotion."  Nearly  all  the 
three  hundred  and  seventy-five  Italian  ballads,  songs,  and  sonnets 
of  Petrarch  have  Laura  as  their  theme.    They  bulk  small  in  com- 


154  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

parison  to  his  other  writings,  but  his  lasting  fame  as  an  author  is 
due  to  these  matchless  love  lyrics.  The  most  complete  collection  in 
English  is  in  the  Bohn  Library,  with  an  introduction  by  Thomas 
Campbell  and  with  translations  by  various  persons.  In  our  narrow 
limits  it  is  possible  to  present  here  only  a  portion  of  one  of  these 
lyrics  as  translated  by  Leigh  Hunt : 

"How  well  I  call  to  mind, 
When  from  those  boughs  the  wind 
Shook  down  upon  her  bosom  flower  on  flower; 
And  there  she  sat,  meek-eyed, 
In  midst  of  all  that  pride, 

Sprinkled  and  blushing  through  an  amorous  shower. 
Some  to  her  hair  paid  dower. 
And  seem'd  to  dress  the  curls. 
Queenlike,  with  gold  and  pearls ; 
Some,  snowing,  on  her  drapery  stopped; 
Some  on  the  earth,  some  on  the  water  dropp'd ; 
While  others,  fluttering  from  above, 
Seem'd  wheeling  round  in  pomp,  and  saying,  'Here  reigns  Love.' 

"How  often  then  I  said, 
Inward,  and  fill'd  with  dread, 
'Doubtless  this  creature  came  from  Paradise!' 
For  at  her  look  the  while, 
Her  voice,  and  her  sweet  smile. 
And  heavenly  air,  truth  parted  from  mine  eyes ; 
So  that,  with  long-drawn  sighs, 
I  said,  as  far  from  men, 
'How  came  I  here,  and  when?' 
I  had  forgotten  ;  and  alas  ! 
Fancied  myself  in  heaven,  not  where  I  was ; 
And  from  that  time  till  this,  I  bear 
Such  love  for  the  green  bower,  I  cannot  rest  elsewhere." 

Petrarch,  then,  is  worthy  of  our  remembrance  as  a  great  lover 
and  poet,  a  patient  and  enthusiastic  scholar,  a  warm-hearted  friend, 
a  man  with  an  open  mind,  the  first  of  the  moderns.  Singularly 
attractive  is  this  passage  from  one  of  his  last  letters,  written  to 
Boccaccio : 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE  155 

"Do  you  not  know  that  page  from  Ecclesiasticus,  'When  man  has 
finished  his  researches,  he  is  but  at  the  beginning,  and  when  he  rests, 
then  doth  he  labor'?  I  seem  to  myself  to  have  but  begun;  whatever 
you  and  others  may  think,  this  is  my  verdict.  If  in  the  meanwhile  the 
end,  which  cannot  be  far  off,  should  come,  I  w^ould  that  it  might  find 
me  still  young." 

Boccaccio.  The  friend  and  contemporary  of  Petrarch,  Giovanni 
Boccaccio,  was  born  in  13 13,  of  a  Florentine  father  and  a  French 
mother.  His  birthplace  is  uncertain,  but  his  earlier  years  were 
spent  in  Florence,  and  the  years  from  1323  to  1341  at  Naples,  at 
the  court  of  King  Robert  of  Sicily,  whose  daughter  Maria  ("Fiam- 
metta")  Boccaccio  passionately  loved.  After  a  brief  interval  at 
Florence  he  returned  to  Naples,  where  he  lived  from  1344  to  1346. 
The  remaining  years  he  spent  mostly  at  Florence  and  at  the  small 
town  of  Gertaldo,  twenty  miles  distant,  where  he  died  in  1375,  only 
one  year  after  the  death  of  Petrarch. 

Boccaccio  had  a  gentle,  sincere,  and  impressionable  nature.  In 
his  gay  and  easy  type  of  mind  he  displayed  the  weakness  and  licen- 
tiousness of  the  Florentine  character,  but  his  strong  qualities  were 
no  less  conspicuous.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  was  a  true  and  ardent 
lover  of  literature,  though  he  did  not  prove  to  be  so  great  a  scholar 
as  Petrarch  or  so  talented  a  poet  as  either  Petrarch  or  Dante. 
His  admiration  for  Dante  was  profound,  and  he  became  one  of  his 
earliest  interpreters  and  biographers,  ascribing  to  him  the  source  of 
everything  that  might  be  thought  e.xcellent  in  his  own  work.  Dur- 
ing most  of  his  years  he  was  absorbed  in  scholarly  and  religious 
interests,  a  fact  which  may  seem  surprising  to  many. 

It  is  as  the  creator  of  classic  Italian  prose  and  a  great  teller  of 
tales  that  Boccaccio  is  chiefly  remembered  in  our  day.  It  should 
also  be  noted  that  he  popularized  the  stories  of  the  classics  and  in 
this  and  other  respects  was  one  of  the  leading  Humanists ;  that  he 
developed  the  heroic  and  the  pastoral  romance ;  and  that  he  created 
in  his  narrative  poetry  the  ottava  rima,  or  eight-line  stanza,  used 
later  so  effectively  by  Ariosto  and  Tasso  (and  by  Byron  in  "Don 
Juan").  The  influence  of  Boccaccio  on  subsequent  literature  was 
significant.    Chaucer  drew  upon  his  writings  for  his  "Knight's 


156 


LITER^VrURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


Tale,"  Shakespeare  for  "Troilus  and  Cressida,"  Dryden  for  "Pala- 
mon  and  Arcite,"  and  Keats  for  "Isabella;  or  the  Pot  of  Basil." 
The  immortal  story  of  the  patient  Griselda  and  the  story  of  the 
three  rings  (used  by  Lessing  in  "Nathan  the  Wise")  became 
known  through  Hoccaccio,  to  say  nothing  of  many  others  included 

in   Boccaccio's   chief   work,    the 
I     "Decameron." 

It  is  through  the  "Decameron" 
that  Boccaccio  has  won  his  chief 
fame,  earning  the  title  of  "the 
father  of  Italian  prose."  This 
famous  work  was  composed  be- 
tween 1344  and  1350  and  was 
published  in  1353.  It  represents 
the  author's  finished  prose  style 
and  is  a  great  advance  over  his 
earlier  prose  writings.  It  is  a  col- 
lection of  one  hundred  stories, 
supposed  to  be  related  on  ten  suc- 
cessive days  by  a  company  of 
seven  ladies  and  three  men  of 
Florence  in  a  temporary  country 
retreat  during  the  time  of  the  plague  of  1348.  We  have  already 
noted  a  similar  device  in  the  framework  of  the  Arabian  Nights. 
Since  Boccaccio's  day  a  number  of  other  collections  of  stories  in- 
spired by  him  have  been  produced,  of  which  the  most  famous  is 
Chaucer's  "Canterbury  Tales."  If  we  turn  to  the  "Decameron" 
in  any  one  of  the  numerous  editions  in  English,  we  are  at  once 
struck  with  the  freshness  and  interest  of  the  narrative.  Boccaccio 
is  a  born  story-teller.  His  description  of  the  plague  is  unsurpassed. 
The  grace  of  his  style  is  at  its  best  in  his  descriptions  of  the  typical 
Italian  landscape,  in  the  accounts  which  he  gives  of  rambles  through 
the  beautiful  country  around  Florence,  and  in  the  unaffected  cour- 
tesy and  merriment  of  his  characters.  In  fact,  the  framework  ap- 
pears to  be  superior  to  the  tales,  famous  as  these  are.  Boccaccio 
drew  for  his  material  upon  the  current  stories  of  Italy,  classical  and 


BOCCACCIO 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE  157 

oriental  tales,  and  French  fables.  He  is  a  plagiarist  in  the  same 
sense  as  are  Chaucer  and  Shakespeare.  In  other  words,  he  improves 
upon  his  originals  and  makes  a  prosaic  tale  a  classic.  Boccaccio's 
stories  are  frequently  licentious  in  the  extreme  and  have  thus 
earned  an  unsavory  notoriety.  But  many  of  them  display  ennobling 
and  generous  traits  of  character  and  sometimes  reach  the  heights 
of  human  pathos. 

Ariosto  and  Tasso 

The  century  and  a  half  (1375-152 5)  succeeding  the  death  of 
Petrarch  and  Boccaccio  is  the  period  of  the  development  of  the 
Italian  Renaissance.  In  sculpture,  painting,  and  architecture  Italy 
set  the  standard  for  all  Europe.  Florence,  and  later  Rome,  became 
the  centers  of  the  arts.  Politically  the  times  were  evil,  for  Italy 
was  the  battleground  of  Europe ;  first  Spain  and  France,  then  the 
Hapsburgs  and  Bourbons,  contended  for  the  prize.  The  people  of 
Italy  as  a  whole  had  no  real  national  feeling  as  yet ;  their  land  had 
several  political  divisions  and  acknowledged  a  number  of  rulers. 

Classical  scholarship  advanced  rapidly  during  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, but  there  were  few  important  writers.  Politian  (1454-1494), 
a  great  Humanist,  a  skillful  translator,  and  a  poet  of  distinction, 
should  be  mentioned.  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  ( 1449-1492 )  is  noted  as 
a  patron  of  letters  and  as  the  ruler  of  Florence  at  the  height  of  its 
glory.  His  love  lyrics  were  admired  in  their  day,  and  some  of  them 
have  been  gracefully  translated  by  Symonds  and  others.  Michael 
Angelo's  sonnets  have  a  similar  worth,  though  the  preeminence  of 
their  author  was,  of  course,  in  the  field  of  the  fine  arts.  Pietro 
Bembo  and  Vittoria  Colonna,  his  contemporaries,  were  considerable 
figures  in  literature.  It  was  a  time  of  intellectual  activity  and  con- 
stant production. 

Ariosto.  We  turn  to  Ariosto  as  the  conspicuous  man  of  letters  of 
the  period.  This  great  poet  of  the  Renaissance  was  born  in  1474 
and  died  in  1533.  In  his  early  manhood  he  made  his  home  at 
Ferrara  and  entered  the  service  of  the  Cardinal  d'Este  and  later  of 
Duke  Alfonso.  It  was  a  brilliant  court.  Comedies  written  by  Ariosto 
were  produced  in  the  court  theater.    Goethe's  similar  connection 


iS8 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


with  the  court  at  Weimar  will  be  recalled.  In  the  satires  of  Ariosto 
we  have  glimpses  of  the  personality  of  their  author — he  appears  a 
lover  of  independence  and  of  the  quiet  life  of  the  scholar.  The  chief 
work  of  Ariosto's  life  was  a  metrical  romance  entitled  "Orlando 
Furioso,"  or  "Mad  Roland,"  written  in  forty-five  cantos  and  with  a 
total  length  exceeding  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey  combined.  Ariosto 
had  been  greatly  attracted  to  the  "Orlando  Innamorato"  of  Boiardo, 


AN  EARLY  PRINTING-SHOP 


also  a  court  poet  at  Ferrara.  This  poem  had  expressed  the  roman- 
tic impulse  of  the  period  familiar  to  us  in  the  tales  of  Charlemagne 
and  of  King  Arthur.  It  told  of  the  conflict  between  the  Saracens 
and  Charlemagne  and  of  the  siege  of  Paris  by  the  Saracens.  The 
poem  was  left  unfinished  at  Boiardo's  death.  Ariosto's  romance 
is  the  continuation  of  the  theme.  It  is  the  complete  expression  of 
the  times  and  of  the  poet's  ideas  and  philosophy  of  life.  The  story 
covers  some  of  the  same  material  as  the  earlier  work  and  carries  it 
forward  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Saracen  leader  and  his  death. 

The  "Orlando  Furioso"  had  an  immense  popularity  in  its  day. 
Bernardo  Tasso,  the  father  of  Torquato  Tasso,  is  reported  as  saying 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE  159 

that  "neither  learned  man  nor  artisan,  no  youth,  no  maid,  no  old 
man,  could  be  satisfied  with  a  single  perusal, — passengers  in  the 
streets,  sailors  in  their  boats,  and  virgins  in  their  chambers,  sang 
for  their  disport  the  stanzas  of  Ariosto."  The  poem  was  not  written 
for  any  serious  purpose.  It  is  a  fantastic  creation,  and  its  world 
was  fantastic  even  to  Ariosto's  contemporaries.  There  are  several 
themes  and  a  bewildering  number  of  incidents  of  love,  battle,  and 
adventure.  The  author's  purpose  seems  to  be  to  entertain  the 
reader  with  tales  of  romance  and  wonder  and  to  include  some  of  his 
own  practical  wisdom.  Galileo  calls  the  poem  "divine."  For  thirty 
years  the  poet  was  busy  perfecting  it  and  bringing  it  into  its  final 
state.  The  stanzas  are  universally  commended  for  their  grace  and 
beauty  of  style  and  for  their  harmony  of  words.  Leigh  Hunt  gives 
an  outline  of  the  poem  in  his  "Stories  from  the  Italian  Poets." 
There  is  also  an  interesting  account  in  Kuhns's  "Poets  of  Italy," 
with  extracts  from  Rose's  metrical  translation. 

Tasso.  The  last  of  the  four  great  Italian  poets,  Torquato  Tasso 
( 1 544-1 595),  is  always  recalled  with  a  pang  of  sympathy  because 
of  the  manifold  disappointments  of  his  life.  And  yet  he  achieved 
brilliantly  and  belongs  to  the  immortals.  His  home  was  in  Sorrento, 
but  the  family  was  early  disunited,  and  the  youth  received  his  edu- 
cation at  Rome,  Padua,  Venice,  and  Bologna.  So  precocious  was  he 
that  before  he  was  eighteen  he  produced  an  epic  poem,  "Rinaldo," 
which  established  his  position  as  a  poet.  Like  his  predecessor 
Ariosto  he  sought  the  patronage  of  the  House  of  Este  at  Ferrara. 
The  duke  and  his  sisters,  Lucretia  and  Eleonora,  made  much  of 
him.  He  had  already  begun  his  great  heroic  poem,  and  he  worked 
on  it  industriously.  For  a  brief  period  he  laid  it  aside  and  wrote  a 
five-act  pastoral  drama  in  blank  verse,  "Aminta,"  which  was  pre- 
sented in  Ferrara  amid  universal  acclaim. 

With  the  completion  of  "Jerusalem  Delivered,"  Tasso 's  great 
work,  his  troubles  began.  He  entered  upon  a  period  of  gloom,  un- 
happiness,  and  insanity  which  closed  only  with  his  death.  The 
story  of  his  love  for  Eleonora  of  Este,  on  which  Goethe  bases  his 
drama  "Torquato  Tasso,"  is  now  regarded  as  a  fiction.  Tasso's 
nature  was  sensitive  and  affectionate.    As  the  shadows  closed  upon 


i6o  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

him,  he  became  morbid  and  suspicious.  No  doubt  he  was  difficult 
to  deal  with,  and  at  Ferrara  and  elsewhere  he  became  a  burden  to 
himself  and  to  others.  Yet  he  still  wrote  voluminously  and  dis- 
played the  old  genius.  At  last  he  found  a  shelter  at  Rome  under 
Pope  Clement  VIII,  who  was  about  to  crown  him  with  the  poet's 
laurel  when  death  snatched  him  away. 

Tasso's  writings  fill  forty  volumes,  but  his  fame  rests  upon  his 
heroic  poem  "Jerusalem  Delivered."  He  chose  a  striking  theme — 
the  story  of  the  liberation  of  Jerusalem  under  Godfrey  of  Bouillon 
in  the  crusade  of  the  eleventh  century.  Tasso  thought  of  his  task 
as  a  sacred  one.  Properly  conceived  the  poem  is  religious,  the  work 
of  an  exalted  soul.  In  Tasso's  day  the  Turk  was  still  active,  and  his 
conquests  had  extended  to  the  walls  of  Venice ;  consequently  this 
historical  episode  of  the  past,  with  the  spectacular  victory  of  the 
Christian  host,  seemed  to  have  a  timely  interest.  The  complaint  of 
Tasso's  critics  was  that  the  poem  did  not  conform  to  the  rules,  that 
the  supernatural  element  was  unorthodox,  that  history  was  violated, 
that  there  were  too  many  romantic  incidents  and  love  passages,  and 
that  the  author's  work  was  inferior  to  that  of  the  great  Ariosto, 
whose  memory  was  still  green.  The  fact  remains,  none  the  less, 
that  "Jerusalem  Delivered"  is  the  chief  heroic  poem  of  Italy.  God- 
frey is  represented  as  the  perfect  Christian  warrior.  The  main  ac- 
tion centers  in  him  and  his  final  conquest.  Another  character, 
scarcely  less  conspicuous,  Rinaldo,  an  ancestor  of  the  House  of  Este, 
brings  in  another  series  of  episodes.  The  third  action  is  concerned 
with  Tancred  and  with  his  love  for  Clorinda.  The  poem  is  crowded 
with  figures ;  beautiful,  romantic  episodes  add  greatly  to  its  interest. 
Each  character  is  living  and  is  finely  discriminated,  whether  the 
poem  deals  with  a  pagan  or  a  Christian  hero,  or  with  one  of  the 
women  figures.  The  material  is  singularly  elevated,  without  any- 
thing repulsive  or  unseemly  in  word  or  thought.  In  form  and  method 
Tasso  followed  classical  models.  The  verse  is  the  familiar  octave 
and  has  a  sweet  melody  and  a  finished  quality.  The  English  trans- 
lation made  by  Fairfax  in  1600  is  still  a  classic.  Wiffen's  transla- 
tion is  used  by  Kuhns  in  his  admirable  outline  of  the  story  of  the 
poem  (see  "Great  Poets  of  Italy''). 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE  l6i 

A  Few  Prose  Writers  of  the  Renaissance 

Machiavelli  (1469-1527),  the  leading  writer  of  Italian  prose 
during  the  Renaissance  period,  is  remembered  chiefly  for  his  two 
treatises  on  statecraft — ''The  Prince"  and  "Discourses  on  the  First 
Ten  Books  of  Livy."  He  was  a  thorough  Latin  scholar,  a  diplomat, 
and  a  writer  of  history  and  even  of  poetry  and  comedy.  The  moral 
contradictions  of  the  man  are  displayed  in  his  writings.  When  we 
speak  of  "Machiavellian  policy,"  we  have  in  mind  the  worldly-wise 
advice:  "A  prince  who  desires  to  maintain  himself,  must  learn  to 
be  not  always  good,  but  to  be  so  or  not  as  necessity  may  require. 
.  .  .  For,  all  things  considered,  it  will  be  found  that  some  things 
that  seem  like  virtue  will  lead  you  to  ruin  if  you  follow  them ; 
whilst  others  that  apparently  are  vices  will,  if  followed,  result  in 
your  safety  and  well-being."  Yet  ISIachiavelli  may  be  commended 
for  his  patriotism  and  for  his  republican  ideas.  His  eminence  in 
the  field  of  history  and  politics  is  recognized.  The  tablet  on  his 
house  in  Florence,  placed  by  the  Italian  government  in  1869,  calls 
him  "the  intrepid  and  prophetic  precursor  of  national  unity." 

Vasari  (1511-1574),  a  painter  and  architect,  was  also  a  biog- 
rapher of  artists.  We  are  indebted  to  this  contemporary  of  Michael 
Angelo,  Raphael,  and  Andrea  del  Sarto  for  many  authentic  facts 
regarding  a  number  of  the  most  distinguished  artists  of  Italy. 

Benvenuto  Cellini  (i 500-1 571)  is  esteemed  as  a  sculptor  and 
perhaps  equally  as  the  writer  of  the  most  unreticent  of  autobi- 
ographies. He  has  given  us  a  fascinating  picture  of  his  life  and 
times.  The  man  stands  revealed  as  an  artist  engrossed  in  his  work, 
as  a  libertine,  a  braggart,  a  cutthroat,  and  now  and  then  as  a  deeply 
religious  person.  His  autobiography  is  a  notable  Italian  classic. 
The  account  of  the  casting  of  the  Perseus  and  of  Cellini's  experi- 
ences in  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo  are  famous.  Symonds's  transla- 
tion seems  to  possess  all  the  interest  of  the  original. 

The  century  of  Machiavelli  and  Cellini  is  also  noteworthy  for  the 
productions  of  the  historian  Francesco  Guicciardini  (1483-1540), 
the  perfect  courtier  Baldassare  Castiglioni  (1478-1529),  and  the 
versatile  philosopher  Giordano  Bruno  (i 548-1 600). 


1 62  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  Later  Period 

Italian  literature  subsequent  to  the  time  of  Tasso  presents  few 
writers  of  importance  until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Economically  and  politically  Italy  was  in  a  most  unfortunate  state. 
During  most  of  this  period  the  House  of  Hapsburg  was  in  political 
control  in  northern  and  central  Italy.  The  Bourbons  remained  in 
Naples  and  Sicily  until  Garibaldi's  day  (i860). 

During  the  Renaissance,  Italy  had  been  the  intellectual  leader  of 
Europe.  It  was  now  her  turn  to  be  influenced  by  other  nations. 
She  sought  her  models  among  the  distinguished  thinkers  of  Eng- 
land, France,  and  Germany.  Only  in  the  drama  was  anything  of 
special  note  produced.  The  drama  in  Italy  had  dragged  behind 
other  forms  of  literature.  Its  early  devotional  form,  known  as 
raprcsentazioni  sacre,  had  largely  disappeared  in  the  early  six- 
teenth century.  Italian  translations  and  imitations  of  classical 
plays  became  known,  and  in  151 5  a  regular  tragedy,  Trissino's 
"Sofonisba,"  was  produced.  We  have  seen  that  Ariosto,  Tasso,  and 
Machiavelli  had  all  written  plays,  but  these  had  no  abiding  success. 
Goldoni  (i 707-1 793)  and  Alfieri  (1749-1803)  were  now,  however, 
to  give  a  measure  of  distinction  to  the  Italian  drama. 

Goldoni  has  been  termed  the  "Italian  Moliere."  It  is  true  that 
he  thought  of  the  great  French  playwright  as  his  master  and  that 
he  possessed  some  of  the  same  qualities  that  distinguished  Moliere. 
In  his  memoirs  (written  at  the  age  of  eighty)  he  has  drawn  a  de- 
lightful picture  of  himself,  though  he  looks  back  upon  his  career 
through  the  veil  of  romance,  and  his  statements  are  therefore  not 
all  trustworthy.  He  is  gentle,  gay,  care-free.  Venice  was  his  home 
and  the  scene  of  his  successes  as  actor,  producer,  and  playwright. 
In  his  later  years  he  transferred  his  home  to  Paris,  where  he  wrote 
plays  in  French  and  finished  his  life,  neglected  and  poverty-stricken, 
in  the  stirring  days  of  the  Revolution.  Goldoni  wrote  one  hundred 
and  sixty  comedies,  only  a  few  of  which  have  been  translated  into 
English.  The  plays  are  healthy,  kindly,  and  good-humored ;  they 
aim  simply  to  amuse.  When  Goethe  was  in  Venice  in  1786  he  at- 
tended a  play  of  Goldoni's  and  wrote :   "  I  never  witnessed  anything 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE  163 

like  the  noisy  delight  the  people  evinced  at  seeing  themselves  and 
their  mates  presented  with  such  truth  of  nature.  It  was  one  con- 
tinued laugh  and  tumultuous  shout  of  exultation  from  beginning 
to  end." 

Goldoni's  contemporary,  Giuseppe  Parini  (i 729-1 799),  a  man 
of  pleasing  personality  and  decided  poetic  gifts,  produced  in 
''Giorno"  a  social  satire  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  Alexander 
Pope.  The  poem  is  in  four  parts,  depicting  the  useless  occupa- 
tions of  an  aristocratic  young  Italian,  all  written  in  pure  poetry 
of  a  high  order. 

Alfieri,  the  most  important  tragic  poet  of  Italy,  was  preceded 
by  a  long  series  of  Italian  writers  of  tragedy  from  the  days  of  Tris- 
sino  in  the  early  sixteenth  century.  Apart  from  him,  however,  no 
Italian  ranks  with  the  leading  dramatists  of  the  world.  Alfieri's 
home  was  at  Asti,  in  Piedmont,  but  he  was  a  thorough  Italian.  His 
youth,  spent  in  a  careless  way  in  northern  Italy  and  in  France,  Eng- 
land, and  Holland,  he  later  regarded  as  wasted  and  useless.  From 
the  age  of  twenty-six,  however,  to  the  end  of  his  life  he  showed  in- 
tense application  to  the  vocation  of  literature.  He  lived  mainly  in 
Florence.  In  addition  to  his  tragedies  he  wrote  six  comedies,  as  well 
as  sonnets  and  odes,  and  an  autobiography  frankly  conceived  and 
deeply  interesting.  His  nineteen  tragedies  were  fashioned  with  in- 
credible pains.  For  his  models  Alfieri  drew  upon  Greek  and  French 
plays,  and  for  his  themes  upon  history  and  mythology.  Brief,  with 
few  characters,  these  plays  run  their  course  unerringly,  presenting 
deep,  somber,  heartbreaking  tragedy,  unrelieved  by  any  special 
graces  of  style  or  method.^ 

Alfieri  told  of  human  wrong  and  oppression  with  a  deliberate 
purpose  in  mind.  He  sought  to  revive  the  national  spirit,  to  com- 
municate to  others  his  own  ardent  love  of  liberty  and  his  hatred  of 

1"  Alfieri  seemed  to  be  attracted  towards  the  most  horrible  phases  of 
human  life  and  the  most  terrible  events  of  history  and  tradition.  The  pas- 
sions he  describes  are  those  of  unnatural  love,  of  jealousy  between  father 
and  son,  of  fratricidal  hatred,  or  those  in  which  the  sense  of  duty  and  love 
for  liberty  triumph  over  the  ties  of  filial  and  parental  love." — From  Kuhns's 
"Great  Poets  of  Italy  " 


1 64  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

tyranny.    Not  without  significance  is  the  fact  that  one  of  his  plays 
wa5  dedicated  to  George  Washington. 

Other  distinguished  poets  of  the  period  of  Alfieri  are  Vincenzo 
Monti  (1754-1828),  whose  masterpiece  was  an  epic  poem  in  four 
parts  showing  the  influence  of  Dante ;  and  Niccolo  Ugo  Foscolo 
(1778-1827),  a  patriotic  and  tempestuous  figure  in  the  literary  life 
of  the  times,  whose  writings  included  tragedies,  poems,  and  essays. 

Before  Alfieri  and  his  fellow  poets  died,  the  nineteenth  century, 
the  century  of  Cavour  and  Garibaldi,  had  dawned.  The  steps  by 
which  the  king  of  Sardinia  became  king  of  all  Italy  and  unity  was 
at  last  secured  make  a  thrilling  chapter  in  history.  During  the  early 
part  of  the  century  nationalistic  feeling  ran  high ;  the  revolutionary 
movement  gained  steady  headway.  We  have  seen  that  Dante  and 
Petrarch  in  their  day  had  longed  for  Italian  unity.  Their  aspira- 
tions were  now  fervently  recalled.  The  treatises  of  IMachiavelli,  the 
plays  of  Alfieri,  the  various  writings  of  Foscolo,  gave  impulse  in  the 
same  direction.  And  the  most  significant  literature  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  is  shot  through  and  through  with  patriotic  ardor. 

The  chief  Italian  novelist,  Manzoni  (1785-1873),  was  bom  at 
Milan.  A  quiet  and  unassuming  man,  he  took  little  part  in  the 
public  life  of  his  day.  So  great  was  the  influence  of  his  writings, 
however,  that  when  he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight  the  tribute 
paid  to  him  was  nation-wide.  Verdi's  "Requiem"  appeared  the 
following  year  in  memory  of  IManzoni.  Hymns,  martial  lyrics,  odes, 
and  tragedies  with  a  Shakespearean  flavor  are  included  in  ]Man- 
zoni's  works.  His  ode  "II  Cinque  INIaggio "  ("  1  he  Fifth  of  May  ") 
is  the  most  popular  lyric  in  the  language.  But  Manzoni's  fame  rests 
upon  his  historical  novel  "I  Promessi  Sposi"  ("The  Betrothed"). 
This  has  been  translated  into  nearly  every  literary  language.  It  is  one 
in  the  very  limited  list  of  books  of  fiction  included  in  the  Eliot  Five- 
Foot  Library,  and  it  is  worthy  of  its  place  there.  ISIanzoni's  master- 
piece suggests  the  novels  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  The  scene  of  the  story 
is  laid  in  and  around  Milan  during  the  years  162  8-1 631.  The  times 
are  presented  with  extraordinary  vividness,  and  picturesque  descrip- 
tions of  Lombardy  abound.  Every  character  is  a  real  person :  Don 
Abbondio,  the  weak  and  vacillating  curate ;  Father  Cristoforo,  the 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE  165 

Capuchin  friar,  strong,  resourceful,  spiritual ;  Renzo,  the  rustic 
lover;  Lucia,  "the  betrothed,"  beautiful,  pure,  pathetic;  Agnese, 
the  scheming  and  simple-minded  mother ;  Don  Rodrigo,  proud,  un- 
scrupulous, the  typical  tyrant ;  the  Unnamed,  of  unsavory  history 
but  capable  of  true  nobility;  Cardinal  Borromeo,  the  idealized 
priest.  There  are  unforgettable  scenes :  the  opening  description  of 
Como,  the  ludicrous  account  of  the  attempted  marriage  of  Renzo 
and  Lucia,  the  night  passage  across  the  lake,  the  interview  between 
cardinal  and  outlaw,  the  terrific  description  of  the  plague.  A  ro- 
mantic turn  is  given  through  the  swift  changes,  the  dangers,  the 
escapes,  the  perplexities,  and  the  final  peace  and  happiness.  "If 
after  reading  this  book,"  says  INIanzoni,  "you  are  not  conscious  of 
having  acquired  some  new  ideas  on  the  story  of  the  period  I  have 
described,  or  about  the  evils  that  weigh  on  humankind,  and  sug- 
gestions as  to  means  to  lighten  them ;  if  whilst  you  were  reading, 
you  have  never  been  moved  by  a  feeling  of  reprobation  for  wicked- 
ness, and  of  reverence  for  piety,  nobleness,  humanity,  and  justice, 
the  publication  of  this  book  has  been  useless  indeed."  The  author's 
hopes  were  splendidly  realized.  "I  Promessi  Sposi"  has  had  an 
abiding  influence.  It  is  said  that  it  is  better  known  than  any  other 
book  of  Italian  literature  apart  from  the  "Divine  Comedy,"  Man- 
zoni's  writings  were  completed  before  he  reached  forty — he  seemed 
content  to  rest  upon  the  laurels  he  had  won.  He  may  be  thought  of 
as  a  great  writer,  a  restorer  of  the  classical  Italian  of  Tuscany,  a 
sincere  patriot  who  set  forth  clearly  the  evils  of  the  Austrian  rule, 
and  the  chief  representative  of  Italy  in  the  European  literature  of 
his  period. 

Giacomo  Leopardi  (i 798-1837),  the  gifted,  frail,  and  unhappy 
poet,  also  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  Italy  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  He  had  greater  natural  gifts  than  Manzoni,  and  his  con- 
tributions to  philosophy  and  to  classical  scholarship  as  well  as  to 
poetry  are  important ;  but  his  morbid  and  pessimistic  temperament 
sadly  hampered  his  usefulness.  Leopardi's  poems  number  forty- 
one,  comprising  love  lyrics,  patriotic  odes,  introspective  studies,  and 
poems  of  nature.  Living  the  life  of  a  wanderer,  he  battled  against 
ill  health  and  gave  himself  up  more  and  more  to  black  despair.  The 


,66  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

following  lines,  taken  from  Howells's  translation  of  Leopardi's  poem 
written  to  himself,  are  characteristic : 

"Rest  thee  forever!    Oh,  greatly, 
Heart,  hast  thou  palpitated.    There  is  nothing 
Worthy  to  move  thee  more,  nor  is  earth  worthy 
Thy  sighs.    For  life  is  only 
A  heap  of  dust.    So  rest  thee  ! 
Despair  for  the  last  time.   To  our  race  Fortune 
Never  gave  any  gift  but  death." 

Yet  the  note  of  sadness  in  Leopardi  found  an  echo  in  the  Italy  of 
his  day.  "Italy,"  he  said,  "sits  on  the  ground,  neglected  and  un- 
comforted,  burying  her  head  in  her  lap,  and  weeps."  He  became 
the  favorite  poet  of  the  revolutionary  movement.  Nor  have  leading 
literary  critics  failed  to  recognize  his  genius.  Sainte-Beuve  spoke 
of  him  as  the  "noblest,  calmest,  most  austere  of  poets";  and  Mat- 
thew Arnold,  as  one  worthy  to  be  "named  with  Milton  and  Dante." 
Giuseppe  Mazzini  (i 805-1 872)  will  always  be  remembered  as 
one  of  the  greatest  of  nineteenth-century  Italians.  During  most  of 
his  life  he  was  an  exile  from  his  country.  In  addition  to  his  political 
writings  his  works  include  a  number  of  literary  essays.  Mazzini 
was  a  student  of  Dante  and  derived  from  him  some  of  his  convic- 
tions regarding  the  political  unity  of  Italy  and  the  power  of  spir- 
itual ideas.  "He  is  a  born  king  and  chief  and  leader  of  men/'  said 
Swinburne  when  he  met  Mazzini  in  London  five  years  before  the 
latter's  death.  "He  is  not  the  least  bit  discouraged  or  disheartened 
—  and  I  don't  know  how  anyone  could  be  who  had  ever  seen  his 
face.  It  is  literally  full  of  light ;  he  has  the  largest  and  brightest 
dark  eyes  in  the  world.  He  is  clearly  the  man  to  create  a  nation — 
to  bid  the  bones  live  and  rise." 

Recent  Writers 

It  is  difficult  to  appraise  the  writers  of  our  own  generation. 
Among  recent  novelists  Giovanni  Verga  has  been  greatly  admired 
in  Italy  and  elsewhere.  His  "House  by  the  Medlar  Tree"  gives  an 
intensely  realistic  picture  of  peasant  life  in  Sicily.    Fogazzaro  has 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE  167 

also  had  considerable  prominence,  chiefly  through  the  religious 
ideas  expressed  in  his  novels.  De  Amicis  is  esteemed  for  his  short 
stories.  D'Annunzio  has  proved  a  spectacular  figure  in  public  life. 
As  novelist,  poet,  and  dramatist  he  has  made  a  bid  for  fame,  but 
without  brilliant  success. 

Our  study  of  the  literature  of  Italy  must  not  omit  reference  to 
the  latest  conspicuous  Italian  poet,  Carducci  (1836-1907).  He  im- 
presses us  as  a  latter-day  Humanist  through  his  intense  love  and 
veneration  for  the  classics.  To  him,  indeed,  the  gods  of  ancient 
Greece  and  Rome  were  more  vital  than  the  Christian  God.  His 
poems  are  sometimes  boldly  pagan.  "Other  gods  die,"  he  sang, 
"but  the  divinities  of  Greece  know  no  setting.  They  sleep  in  the 
trees  and  flowers  that  gave  them  birth,  above  the  mountains,  the 
rivers,  and  the  everlasting  seas."  Carducci's  home  was  in  Tuscany. 
For  forty-four  years  he  taught  in  the  University  of  Bologna.  His 
political  odes  indicated  his  intense  desire  for  Italian  unity.  Like 
Virgil  he  loved  the  country  and  the  simple  joys  of  rural  life.  But 
the  chief  impulse  of  his  poetry  was  to  glorify  classicism.  He  was 
awarded  in  1906  the  Nobel  prize.  Several  volumes  of  his  poems 
have  been  published.  Frank  Sewall's  "Poems  of  Giosue  Carducci" 
contains  translations  of  forty-one  poems.  "To  Satan"  is  the  most 
striking  of  these ;  it  is  bold  in  conception  and  imagery.  There  are 
poems  to  Aurora,  to  Homer,  to  Virgil,  to  Apollo,  to  Dante  and  other 
poets  of  Italy,  and  also  personal  poems  and  poems  of  nature.  Search- 
ing and  beautiful  is  the  following  sonnet  (Sewall's  translation), 
which  seems  to  sum  up  much  of  the  philosophy  of  Carducci  and 
also  to  strike  a  familiar  modern  note : 

"My  lonely  bark  beneath  the  seagull's  screaming 
Pursues  her  way  across  the  stormy  sea ; 
Around  her  mingle,  in  tumultuous  glee, 
The  roar  of  waters  and  the  lightning's  gleaming. 

"And  memory,  down  whose  face  the  tears  are  streaming, 
Looks  for  the  shore  it  can  no  longer  see ; 
While  hope,  that  struggled  long  and  wearily 
With  broken  oar,  at  last  gives  up  its  dreaming. 


i68  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"Still  al  the  helm  erect  my  spirit  stands, 

Gazing  at  sea  and  sky,  and  bravely  crying 
Amid  the  howling  winds  and  groaning  strands : 

Sail  on,  sail  on,  O  crew,  all  fates  defying, 
Till  at  the  gate  of  dark  oblivion's  lands 
We  see  afar  the  white  shores  of  the  dying." 

Reference  List 

Robinson.    Medieval  and  Modern  Times.    Ginn  and  Company. 

Trevelyan.    a  Short  History  of  the  Italian  People.    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 

Sedgwick.    Italy  in  the  Thirteenth  Century  (2  vols.).    Houghton  Mifflin 
Company. 

Walsh.     The  Thirteenth   the   Greatest  of  Centuries.     Catholic  Summer 
School  Press,  New  York. 

SvMONDS.   The  Renaissance  in  Italy  (7  vols.).    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Garnett.    Italian  Literature.    D.  Appleton  and  Company. 

CoLLisoN-MoRLEY.  Modern  Italian  Literature.  Little,  Brown  and  Company. 

Grillo.    Early  Italian  Literature  (2  vols.).    Blackie  and  Son,  London. 

GRttLO.   The  Italian  Poets.    Blackie  and  Son,  London. 

Grillo.    The  Italian  Prose  Writers.    Blackie  and  Son,  London. 

Kennard.    Italian  Romance  Writers.     Brentano's. 

Robinson  and  Rolfe.    Petrarch.    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 

KuHNS.    The  Great  Poets  of  Italy.    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

KuHNS.    Dante  and  the  English  Poets  from  Chaucer  to  Tennyson.    Henry 
Holt  and  Company. 

Everett.    The  Italian  Poets  since  Dante.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Fletcher.  Dante  (Home  University  Library).  Henry  Holt  and  Company. 

RossETTi.    Dante  and  his  Circle.    Little,  Brown  and  Company. 

RossETTi,  M.  F.    A  Shadow  of  Dante.    Little,  Brown  and  Company. 

DiNSMORE.    Life  of  Dante.    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

DiNSMORE.    Aids  to  the  Study  of  Dante.    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

DiNSMORE.    Teachings  of  Dante.     Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

ToYNBEE.   Dante  in  English  Literature  (2  vols).  The  Macmillan  Company. 

Moore.    Studies  in  Dante  (3  vols.).    Oxford  University  Press. 

Gardner.     Dante  and  the  Mystics.    E.  P.  Dutton  &  Company. 

Grandgent.     Dante.     Duffield  &  Company. 

Brooks.    Dante :  How  to  Know  Him.    The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company. 

Oxford  Book  of  Italian  Verse  gives  the  Italian  text  only.    O.xford  Univer- 
sity Press. 

Translations  of  Dante: 

Divine  Comedy  (Langdon)   (3  vols.).    In  Italian  and  English.    Har\'ard 

L^niversity  Press. 
Divine  Comedy  (Norton).     Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 
Divine  Comedy  (Longfellow).    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 


ITALIAN  LITERATURE  169 

Divine  Comedy  (Cary).    Thomas  Y.  Crowell  Company. 

New  Life  (Rossetti).    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

Temple  Classics  (5  vols.)  gives  the  Italian  and  English  of  Dante's  chief 

writings.     E.  P.  Dutton  &  Company. 
Other  translations : 
Bohn  Library  includes  Petrarch,  Ariosto,  Alfieri,  Manzoni.     Harcourt, 

Brace  and  Company. 
Benvenuto  Cellini  (Symonds).     Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Poems  of  Carducci  (Sewall).    Dodd,  Mead  &  Company. 
Boccaccio.     Several  current  translations. 

Suggested  Topics 

The  thirteenth  century  in  Italy. 

Life  of  Dante. 

Story  of  the  "  Divine  Comedy." 

The  allegory  of  the  "Divine  Comedy." 

The  similes  and  poetic  imagery  of  the  "Divine.  Comedy." 

Dante's  religious  ideas. 

The  nether  world  as  described  by  Homer,  Virgil,  and  Dar.te. 

Letters  and  sonnets  of  Petrarch. 

Boccaccio  as  a  teller  of  tales. 

Tasso's  "Jerusalem  Delivered." 

Striking  scenes  from  the  autobiography  of  Cellini. 

A  study  of  Manzoni's  "I  Promessi  Sposi." 

Leopardi  and  Carducci. 


CHAPTER  VII 

SPANISH  LITERATURE 

Spain  is  the  land  of  romance.  We  still  talk  familiarly  of  "castles 
in  Spain"  and  "the  royal  king  of  Spain,"  terms  which  have  little 
relation  to  exact  reality;  yet  Spain  is  a  real  land  with  majestic 
mountains,  rushing  streams,  a  seagirt  shore,  and  a  blue  heaven  over- 
head. It  is  also  the  land  of  the  Inquisition,  the  "land  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,"  the  most  Catholic  of  Catholic  countries.  It  is  the  land  of 
the  Moors;  they  have  departed,  it  is  true,  but  the  Alhambra  re- 
mains and  lives  perennially  in  the  pages  of  Washington  Irving.  It 
is  the  land  of  history — for  who  is  so  untutored  as  not  to  know  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  of  Charles  the  Fifth  and  Philip  the  Second, 
of  the  Spanish  Armada  and  the  treasure  ships  of  the  Spanish  IMain? 
It  is,  last  of  all  and  most  of  all,  the  land  of  that  ingenious  gentle- 
man Don  Quixote  and  of  his  faithful  squire  Sancho  Panza. 

History.  The  Spanish  peninsula  occupies  the  southwestern  por- 
tion of  Europe.  Including  the  country  of  Portugal  it  has  a  coast  line 
of  twenty-five  hundred  miles.  It  is  shut  off  from  France  by  the  ridge 
of  the  Pyrenees,  three  hundred  miles  long.  Thus  Spain  is  isolated 
quite  effectively  from  its  neighbors,  and  during  its  entire  history  its 
people  have  shown  marked  individuality.  Apart  from  Switzerland 
no  European  country  has  geographically  a  higher  average  elevation. 
Central  Spain  is  the  most  rugged  and  mountainous  portion.  The 
early  inhabitants  were  Celts  and  Iberians,  a  brave  and  hardy  Indo- 
European  stock.  In  the  third  century  before  Christ  came  the  Car- 
thaginians. The  period  of  the  Roman  conquest  followed,  and  by 
the  time  of  Augustus  Roman  civilization  was  well  established.  With 
the  downfall  of  Rome  Spain  became  the  prey  of  Goths  and  Vandals. 
In  the  early  eighth  century  of  the  Christian  Era  the  West  Gothic 
kingdom  gave  way  to  the  rule  of  the  Saracen.  Spain  was  invaded, 
but  not  submerged.    Seven  hundred  years  of  constant  warfare,  dur- 


SPANISH  LITER-^TURE 


171 


"-*. 


ing  which,  it  is  said,  three  thousand  battles  were  fought,  ended  in 
the  final  expulsion  of  the  Moors  in  1492,  a  year  famous  in  the  his- 
tory of  Spain  and  of  America.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  golden 
period  of  Spanish  influence  and  litera- 
ture; but  by  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century  the  decline  had  set 
in.  Spain  has  been  shorn  in  our  own 
day  of  the  last  of  her  colonies  and  has 
shrunk  politically  to  her  old  bound- 
aries within  the  peninsula. 

Language.  With  such  a  checkered 
history  it  might  be  supposed  that  the 
Spanish  language  would  show  an  inter- 
mixture of  several  tongues.  There  are, 
however,  few  Gothic  and  few  Moslem 
words.  The  language  is  almost  wholly 
Romance;  that  is,  based,  as  in  the 
case  of  Italian,  French,  and  Portu- 
guese, upon  the  Latin.  An  unrelated 
Basque  speech  is  used  by  the  Basque 
tribes  close  to  the  Pyrenees ;  but  this  is 
a  small  element,  Castilian,  the  lan- 
guage of  the  greater  part  of  Spain  as 
well  as  of  Spanish  America,  is  the 
literary  language.  Catalan,  with  close 
affinity  to  Spanish,  spoken  in  Catalonia 
in  northeastern  Spain,  has  produced  no 
literature  of  the  first  rank,  though  of 
late  it  is  being  employed  in  some  works 

of  merit.  Castilian  Spanish  is  esteemed  for  its  stateliness  and  for 
its  sonorous  qualities.  Longfellow  speaks  of  "its  musical  termina- 
tions, the  high-sounding  march  of  its  periods,  the  great  copiousness 
of  its  vocabulary,  and  its  richness  in  popular  proverbs."  In  some 
particulars  Castilian  is  as  close  to  Latin  as  is  the  Italian  of  Tuscany. 

National  characteristics.  Many  entertaining  books  of  travel  in 
Spain  have  been  written.    John  Hay's  "Castilian  Days,"  now  fifty 


MOORISH   MOSQVE  TOWER,  OR 
MINARET,  IN   SP.\IN 


172  LrrERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

years  old,  may  be  especially  commendefl,  and  also  the  more  recent 
"Heroic  Spain,"  by  Miss  Eliza  B.  O'Reilly.  The  closing  portion  of 
Chapman's  "History  of  Spain,"  published  in  1918,  gives  an  excel- 
lent characterization  of  the  Spaniard  of  today.  Speaking  generally, 
the  Spaniard  has  a  strong  emotional  strain.  Witness  his  intense 
fondness  for  discussion,  his  party  spirit,  his  craving  for  the  excite- 
ment of  the  bullfight  and  the  lottery,  his  occasional  acts  of  violence. 
He  is  patriotic  and  loves  both  his  country  and  his  own  district  or 
locality.  He  has  a  sense  of  personal  pride  which  gives  an  impres- 
sion of  arrogance.  He  is  not  ambitious,  nor  businesslike,  nor  scien- 
tific. Yet  he  is  logical  in  his  thought  and  keenly  intellectual,  ready 
to  talk  freely  of  literature  and  art.  He  has  a  tender  side,  which  is 
displayed  in  his  fondness  for  children.  Courtesy  is  a  prominent 
characteristic. 

His  literature  shows  him  to  have  a  noble  strain  and  a  passionate 
and  eager  spirit.  His  very  language,  thoughts,  and  feelings  show 
his  romantic  impulses,  while  the  heroic  chapters  in  his  history  re- 
veal the  stuff  of  which  he  is  made.  The  land  of  Cervantes  is  a  land 
of  humor  and  cheerfulness.  Chivalry  was  preeminently  a  Spanish 
product,  and  chivalrous  traits  still  prevail  in  the  Spanish  character. 
Unquestioned  obedience  and  faith  in  matters  of  religion  are  almost 
universal.  The  intellectual  genius  of  Spain  is  slighter  than  that 
either  of  Italy  or  of  France.  Frequently  she  has  gained  much  from 
her  contact  with  other  peoples — from  the  Moslems,  especially  dur- 
ing the  period  from  the  twelfth  to  the  fourteenth  century  when 
scientific  and  philosophic  studies  among  the  Moors  were  at  their 
height  and  when  the  Greek  and  oriental  classics  were  being  explored 
by  them;  from  the  Italians,  particularly  during  the  Renaissance 
period ;  and  from  the  French  at  frequent  stages  in  Spain's  intellec- 
tual career.  Yet  it  must  not  be  supposed  tlmt  Spain  lacks  originality 
or  that  her  total  achievement  in  literature  is  inconsiderable.  She  has 
produced  in  "  The  Cid  "  a  true  national  epic.  Few  poets  of  the  first 
rank  may  be  named  among  the  Spaniards,  but  poetry,  especially 
romantic  poetry,  is  of  the  very  essence  of  Spanish  life  and  tempera- 
ment, and  the  Spanish  ballad  is  world-famous.  Among  dramatists 
Spain  can  point  to  Lope  de  Vega  and  Calderon.    The  romances  of 


SPANISH  LITERATURE  173 

chivalry  and  the  picaresque  novel  (dealing  with  rogues  and  vaga- 
bonds) are  distinct  Spanish  types.  "Don  Quixote,"  Cervantes' 
masterpiece,  is  a  world  classic  of  the  first  order,  the  delight  of  each 
succeeding  generation.  And  among  European  writers  of  recent  times 
Spaniards  hold  a  distinguished  place. 

It  is  natural  that  during  the  early  period  when  Spain  was  fighting 
her  way  to  freedom  from  the  Moors  the  national  spirit  should  find 
outlet  in  epic  and  romantic  poetry.  The  drama  had  only  rude  be- 
ginnings. Chivalry  was  expressing  itself  not  only  in  poems  but  in 
novels  of  adventure,  of  which  "  Amadis  de  Gaula"  was  the  model  and 
the  precursor.  With  national  freedom  and  the  rapid  spread  of  print- 
ing at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  Spain  took  her  place  among 
the  nations  politically  and  intellectually.  Universities  were  founded ; 
Cardinal  Ximenes  became  the  patron  of  letters  ;  the  Castilian  the- 
ater came  into  being.  The  two  centuries  that  followed,  the  golden 
age  of  Spanish  history,  were  characterized  by  general  culture  and 
literary  productiveness.  The  highest  point  was  reached  under 
Philip  IV.  Spanish  thought  influenced  Europe,  Spanish  professors 
taught  in  foreign  universities,  the  themes  of  the  Spanish  plays  and 
novels  were  widely  copied,  and  Cervantes  became  one  of  the  best- 
known  of  European  writers.  The  eighteenth  century  witnessed  a 
decline,  and  even  the  democratic  movement  that  followed  exerted 
no  influence  on  literature.  But  since  1850  there  has  been  a  real 
awakening,  particularly  in  the  field  of  the  novel. 

"The  Cid" 

Taking  up  in  greater  detail  the  more  important  monuments  of 
Spanish  literature,  our  attention  is  naturally  centered  first  upon  the 
early  epic  "El  Poema  del  Cid."  It  records  some  of  the  exploits  of 
the  most  prominent  hero  of  Spain,  Ruy  Diaz,  an  authentic  Span- 
iard of  Castile,  who  was  born  about  a.d.  1040  at  Bivar,  and  who 
finished  his  life  at  Valencia  in  1099.  The  Cid  of  history  lived  at  a 
time  when  Leon  and  Castile  were  first  making  headway  against  the 
Moors.  We  find  him  serving  as  commander  under  Sancho  of  Castile 
and  under  the  latter's  successor,  Alfonso,  whose  daughter  he  married. 


174  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Banished  for  some  rather  obscure  reason,  he  became  a  soldier  of 
fortune,  serving  under  both  Moorish  and  Christian  standards.  His 
title  of  Cid  ("Lord"  or  "Conqueror")  was  given  to  him  by  the 
Moors,  and  Campcador  ("Champion")  by  the  Spaniards  as  a  token 
of  admiration  ;  hence  El  Cid  Campeador,  or  "Lord  Champion."  His 
most  famous  exploit  was  the  capture  of  the  city  of  Valencia,  which 
he  ruled  in  his  own  right  until  his  death  a  few  years  later — caused, 
it  is  said,  by  chagrin  because  of  the  defeat  of  one  of  his  armies.  His 
fair  name  is  somewhat  tarnished  by  some  episodes  in  his  career. 

The  Cid  of  romance  is  a  more  glorified  figure.  In  addition  to  be- 
ing the  hero  of  "El  Poema  del  Cid"  he  is  treated  in  a  much  less 
worthy  epic  poem  dealing  with  his  youth ;  in  two  prose  chronicles, 
the  more  important  of  which  is  "The  General  Chronicle  of  Alfonso 
the  Learned" ;  and  in  a  drama  by  Castro,  "The  Youth  of  the  Cid." 
Corneille's  French  play  is  founded  on  the  last  named.  There  are 
some  two  hundred  Spanish  ballads  having  the  Cid  as  their  theme.  In 
the  Cid  of  romance  we  see  the  perfect  Christian  knight  of  the  Spain 
of  chivalry  and  of  the  Crusades.  He  is  noble,  generous-minded, 
invincible. 

"El  Poema  del  Cid,"  written  by  an  unknown  author  some  time 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth  century,  consists  of  a  fragment 
of  three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty-four  verses.  The  only 
manuscript  that  has  survived  is  dated  two  centuries  after  the  com- 
position of  the  epic.  In  meter  it  is  irregular,  but  it  consists  in  gen- 
eral of  long  assonating  lines  divided  into  half  lines,  giving  the 
"middle  pause"  effect  of  early  English  poems.  By  assonance  we 
mean  an  imperfect  rime ;  that  is,  the  riming  of  one  accented  vowel 
with  another.  Thus,  duro  and  hunio,  boca  and  cosa,  are  assonants. 
The  style  of  "  El  Poema  del  Cid  "  is  rugged,  simple,  and  truly  poetic, 
and  the  poem  as  a  whole  justifies  its  reputation  as  the  chief  medieval 
folk  epic  of  Europe.  We  discover  the  Cid  as  a  fine  human  figure, 
modest  rather  than  vainglorious,  both  gentle  and  courageous,  loyal, 
affectionate,  and  religious  with  a  tinge  of  superstition.  The  double- 
dealing  of  which  he  is  guilty  in  the  poem  seems  to  be  characteristic 
of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  and  as  such  may  be  condoned. 


SPANISH  LITERATURE  175 

The  epic  opens  with  the  banishment  of  the  Cid  from  Bivar 
and  carries  him  through  his  Moorish  campaigns  to  the  capture  of 
Valencia.  A  legendary  incident  is  introduced,  of  the  perfidy  of  the 
Infantes,  or  princes,  of  Carrion.  The  opening  lines  of  the  poem  as 
translated  by  Ormsby  give  the  spirit  of  the  original : 

''With  tearful  eyes  he  turned  to  gaze  upon  the  wreck  behind: 
His  rifled  coffers,  bursten  gates,  all  open  to  the  wind : 
Nor  mantle  left,  nor  robe  of  fur ;  stript  bare  his  castle  hall : 
Nor  hawk  nor  falcon  in  the  mew,  the  perches  empty  all. 
Then  forth  in  sorrow  went  my  Cid,  and  a  deep  sigh  sighed  he ; 
Yet  with  a  measured  voice  and  calm,  my  Cid  spake  loftily, — 
'I  thank  thee  God  our  Father,  thou  that  dwellest  upon  high, 
I  suffer  cruel  wrong  to-day,  but  of  mine  enemy ! ' 
As  they  came  riding  from  Bivar  the  crow  was  on  the  right ; 
By  Burgos  gate,  upon  the  left,  the  crow  was  there  in  sight. 
My  Cid  he  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  he  lifted  up  his  head  : 
'  Good  tidings  !  Alvar  Faiiez ;  we  are  banished  men  ! '  he  said. 
With  sixty  lances  in  his  train  my  Cid  rode  up  the  town, 
The  burghers  and  their  dames  from  all  the  windows  looking  down ; 
And  there  were  tears  in  every  eye,  and  on  each  lip  one  word : 
'A  worthy  vassal — would  to  God  he  served  a  worthy  lord  !'" 

The  following  famous  battle-scene  passage  is  not  only  striking  in 
itself  but  is  very  impressive  when  one  recalls  that  at  the  time  the 
poem  was  written  the  conflict  with  the  ^Nloors  was  still  at  its  great- 
est height.    Thus  ''El  Poema  del  Cid ''  is  truly  a  national  epic. 

"Then  cried  my  Cid — Tn  charity,  on  to  the  rescue — ho  !' 
With  bucklers  braced  before  their  breasts,  with  lances  pointing  low. 
With  stooping  crests  and  heads  bent  down  above  the  saddle-bow. 
All  firm  of  hand  and  high  of  heart  they  roll  upon  the  foe. 
And  he  that  in  a  good  hour  was  born,  his  clarion  voice  rings  out. 
And  clear  above  the  clang  of  arms  is  heard  his  battle  shout, 
'Among  them,  gentlemen  1    Strike  home  for  the  love  of  charity  ! 
The  Champion  of  Bivar  is  here — Ruy  Diaz — I  am  he  !' 
Then  bearing  where  Bermuez  still  maintains  unequal  fight. 
Three  hundred  lances  down  they  come,  their  pennons  flickering  white ; 
Down  go  three  hundred  Moors  to  earth,  a  man  to  ever>-  blow ; 
And  when  they  wheel,  three  hundred  more,  as  charging  back  they  go. 


176  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

It  was  a  sight  to  see  the  lances  rise  and  fall  that  day ; 

The  shivered  shields  and  riven  mail,  to  see  how  thick  they  lay ; 

The  pennons  that  went  in  snow-white  come  out  a  gory  red ; 

The  horses  running  riderless,  the  riders  lying  dead ; 

While  Moors  call  on  Mohammed,  and  'St.  James!'  the  Christians  cry, 

And  sixty  score  of  Moors  and  more  in  narrow  compass  lie." 

Spanish  Ballads 

No  treatment  of  Spanish  literature  can  afford  to  omit  the  ballad, 
so  characteristic  is  it  and  so  important  an  element  in  the  poetry  of 
Spain.  In  oral  form  the  ballads  probably  go  back  to  the  eleventh 
or  twelfth  century  at  least,  though  the  first  collection  was  not 
made  until  1511,  and  the  great  period  of  the  ballad  belongs  to  the 
fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries.  The  Spaniards  use  for  the  ballad 
the  term  romancer 0,  or  "romance."  By  this  is  generally  signified 
a  short  epic  narrative  poem,  though  in  later  periods  the  same  term 
includes  also  lyric  poems.  The  common  type  appears  in  stanzas  of 
four  lines  of  eight  syllables  each,  riming  in  the  termination  of  the 
second  and  fourth  lines.  Assonance  is  in  as  good  form  as  true  rime 
and  is  more  common.  The  chief  collection  was  made  in  1604-16 14 
and  consisted  of  more  than  one  thousand  ballads.  Taken  as  a  whole, 
however,  there  have  been  at  least  twice  that  number  gathered  to- 
gether from  time  to  time — the  largest  and  most  impressive  col- 
lection of  poetry  of  the  people  to  be  found  in  the  literature  of 
Europe. 

As  to  material,  the  Spanish  ballad  deals  with  historical  events, 
tales  of  chivalry  and  love,  ancient  fable,  and  occasionally  with 
Moorish  subjects.  The  largest  number  is  historical  and  is  com- 
monly devoted  to  heroes.  Thus  there  are  fifty  or  more  ballads  con- 
cerned with  Bernardo  del  Carpio,  and  another  group  with  the  Seven 
Lords  of  Lara,  while  those  recording  the  exploits  of  the  Cid  are  most 
numerous  of  all.  Tales  of  border  warfare  and  of  the  conflicts  with 
the  Moors  are  frequently  recorded.  Among  the  romantic  ballads 
are  included  such  popular  favorites  as  "Conde  Alarcos  Melisandra," 
"Lady  Alda's  Dream,"  and  "The  Admiral  Guarinos"  (mentioned 
in  "Don  Quixote").    It  is  probable  that  as  a  form  of  literature  the 


SPANISH  LITERATURE  177 

Spanish  ballad  grew  out  of  the  epic  or  was  based  on  the  epic.  The 
prose  chronicles,  to  be  mentioned  later,  were  also  drawn  upon  for 
material.  A  prominent  characteristic  is  the  intense  national  spirit 
of  the  Spanish  ballad.  The  tone  is  Christian,  the  sentiment  is  high, 
and  although  battles  with  the  Moors  are  naturally  the  theme  of 
many  of  the  ballads,  humanity  and  charity  toward  the  enemy  are 
common.  By  comparison  the  early  English  and  Scottish  ballads 
seem  more  rude  and  violent. 

Scott,  Washington  Irving,  and  others  have  drawn  upon  the  ma- 
terial of  the  more  famous  of  these  Spanish  ballads.  Longfellow  and 
Ticknor  have  translated  several  of  them  very  effectively.  The  Eng- 
lish versions  by  Gibson  and  Lockhart  cover  a  much  larger  number. 
Lockhart's  collection  has  had  wide  circulation  from  its  first  appear- 
ance, in  1823.  It  contains  thirty-one  historical  ballads,  five  Moorish, 
and  seventeen  romantic.  The  reader  is  impressed  with  the  nobility 
of  the  race  that  could  produce  these  stirring  poems.  Splendid  traits 
of  character  are  preserved.  While  it  is  of  course  difficult  to  make 
brief  selections  from  narrative  poems,  the  following  stanza  will 
serve  to  give  the  flavor  of  a  characteristic  ballad,  taken  from  Lock- 
hart's  translation.  The  knight  Garci  Perez  de  Vargas  discovers  a 
force  of  Moors  approaching : 

"The  Baron  of  Vargas  turned  him  round,  his  trusty  squire  was  near — 
The  helmet  on  his  brow  he  bound,  his  gauntlet  grasped  the  spear ; 
With  that  upon  his  saddle-tree  he  planted  him  right  steady — 
'Now  come,'  quoth  he,  'whoe'er  they  be,  I  trow  they'll  find  us  ready.'" 

Note  the  spirited  opening  of  ''The  Avenging  Childe" : 

"Hurrah !  hurrah  !  avoid  the  way  of  the  Avenging  Childe ; 
His  horse  is  swift  as  sands  that  drift — an  Arab  of  the  wild ; 
His  gown  is  twisted  round  his  arm — a  ghastly  cheek  he  wears  : 
And  in  his  hand,  for  deadly  harm,  a  hunting  knife  he  bears." 

One  may  safely  conjecture  that  before  the  story  is  ended  the  knife 
will  be  used  effectively. 

Lockhart  has  translated  the  famous  ballad  of  Count  .Xrnaldos, 
and  has  succeeded  in  conveying  the  mystical  atmosphere  of  the 
original.    Even  more  attractive  is  Miss  Ida  Farnell's  version  in  her 


178  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

recently  published  volume  "Spanish  Prose  and  Poetry."  Miss  Far- 
nell  explains  that  the  change  of  tense  in  her  translation  is  a  repro- 
duction of  the  old  ballad.  Count  Arnaldos  sees  on  St.  John's  Day 
a  gallant  ship  speeding  landwards : 

"Sails  it  bore  of  finest  satin,  silken  cordage,  goodly  gear, 
And  the  mariner  who  steered  it  sang  a  song  as  he  drew  near ; 
Sings  a  song  that  calms  the  billows,  soothes  the  wind  to  peace  profound. 
Lures  the  fish  from  deepest  ocean,  makes  them  sport  and  swim  around ; 
Calls  the  circling  birds  to  gather  on  the  masthead  painted  gay. 
Thereon  spake  the  Count  Arnaldos,  ye  shall  hear  what  he  will  say : 
'Gentle  mariner,  I  prithee,  rede  me  now  thy  song,  perdie.' 
And  the  mariner  gave  answer,  even  in  this  wise  spake  he  : 
'Unto  none  I'll  rede  my  ditty  save  to  him  that  sails  with  me.'" 

Early  Spanish  Prose 

The  Spanish  chronicles,  so  prominent  a  feature  of  Spanish  prose 
writing  from  the  thirteenth  to  the  sixteenth  century,  succeeded  the 
earlier  legends  and  chronicles  written  in  Latin  by  the  monks.  King 
Alfonso  X  founded  the  Spanish  chronicle.  This  covered  universal 
history  as  then  understood  and  national  history  during  successive 
epochs ;  also  legends  and  other  prose  material.  We  have  already 
noted  that  there  were  prose  chronicles  of  the  Cid. 

A  whole  family  of  prose  writings  consisted  of  romances  of  chiv- 
alry. Such  romances  had  been  known  in  Normandy  and  France 
long  before  they  appeared  in  Spain.  In  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth 
century,  for  example,  the  stories  of  Arthur  and  the  Round  Table 
knights  were  known.  As  a  Spanish  product  the  earliest  and  the 
most  important,  and  the  begetter  of  a  long  succession  of  others,  was 
"Amadis  de  Gaula."  It  is  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury that  we  encounter  this  famous  tale.  Not  originally  Spanish, 
but  the  work  of  a  Portuguese  of  about  1390,  it  first  achieved  distinc- 
tion in  the  Spanish  version  of  Montalvo,  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  In  due  time  there  were  many  Spanish,  French,  and  Italian 
editions.  Southey  has  translated  it  into  admirable  English,  and  we 
are  thus  at  liberty  to  read  in  our  own  tongue  the  three  volumes  of 
this  story  of  chivalry.  It  is  a  work  of  pure  imagination,  not  capable 


SPANISH  LITERATURE  179 

of  being  resolved  into  true  history  at  any  point.  Apparently  it  dates 
from  early  Christian  times.  Gaul  is  really  Wales.  Amadis  is  an  ille- 
gitimate child,  and  his  life  is  saved  by  mere  chance.  He  is  brought 
up  in  England  and  Scotland.  Oriana,  his  love,  is  separated  from  him 
by  enchantments  and  evil  fortune  until  the  tale  of  his  adventures  is 
nearly  completed.  These  adventures  are  mostly  in  connection  with 
his  stepbrother  Galaor  (also  in  love  with  Oriana)  and  have  as  their 
scene  ostensibly  France,  Germany,  Turkey,  and  other  countries, 
but  their  world  is  a  wholly  imaginary  one  inhabited  by  monsters 
and  giants  and  evil  knights,  a  land  of  terrors  and  heroic  deeds  of 
chivalry.  The  work  is  intended  to  exhibit  knighthood  at  its  best 
and  purest  and  to  emphasize  all  the  knightly  virtues.  It  is  prolix, 
of  course,  and  its  details  are  monotonous,  but  its  earnestness,  its 
sustained  excellence  as  a  body  of  writing,  and  its  occasional  elo- 
quence have  served  to  keep  it  alive. 

Three  other  early  books  of  Spanish  prose  also  claim  passing  refer- 
ence. ''El  Conde  Lucanor,"  the  finest  work  of  Spanish  prose  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  sets  forth  in  a  series  of  forty-nine  tales  a  body 
of  moral  and  political  philosophy.  The  stories  were  gathered  from 
oriental  sources  and  elsewhere.  The  author,  Don  Juan  Manuel,  a 
nephew  of  King  Alfonso  X,  was  one  of  the  most  celebrated  men 
of  his  century,  a  powerful  writer  and  a  man  with  a  remarkably  full 
and  adventurous  life.    He  is  known  to  have  written  twelve  books. 

''La  Celestina,"  written  about  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
probably  by  Fernando  de  Rojas,  is  a  tragi-comedy, — a  dramatic 
story  utilizing  the  dialogue  form  and  divided  into  twenty  acts,  or 
parts  (the  number  differs  in  the  several  editions).  It  is  dramatic 
in  spirit  and  movement,  but  it  may  properly  be  classed  with  realis- 
tic prose,  and  it  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Spanish  novel.  "La Celes- 
tina" records  the  loves  of  Calisto  and  Melibea.  The  chief  character, 
however,  is  a  low  and  vulgar  woman,  Celestina,  whose  unscrupu- 
lous activities  furnish  the  chief  material  of  the  tale.  Full  of  life  and 
movement,  of  passion  and  tragic  death,  "La  Celestina"  achieved 
tremendous  success.  Indeed,  it  has  been  said  that  no  dramatic  work 
of  that  period  in  Europe  was  so  excellent.  The  extracts  given  in 
Miss  Farnell's  collection  are  well  worth  reading. 


i8o  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"Lazarillo  de  Tormes,"  which  appeared  a  half  century  later 
(1553),  is  of  uncertain  authorship.  The  book  is  straightforward 
and  realistic  to  a  degree  and  is  the  very  antithesis  of  the  romance 
of  chivalry,  which  as  a  class  had  lost  its  vogue  by  this  time  and  had 
given  way  to  the  pastoral  novel.  "Lazarillo  de  Tormes"  covers 
only  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  pages.  The  prologue  and  seven 
brief  chapters  tell  of  Lazarillo,  the  son  of  a  miller,  and  of  his  expe- 
riences as  the  guide  of  a  blind  beggar ;  as  the  servant,  in  succession, 
of  a  priest,  a  gentleman,  a  monk,  and  a  pardoner;  as  a  painter  of 
tambourines,  a  chaplain,  a  constable,  and  a  town  crier.  He  ends 
his  career  as  the  husband  of  a  maidservant  in  Toledo.  The  book 
has  enjoyed  immense  popularity  and  has  appeared  in  many  Eng- 
lish editions,  the  latest  by  Mr.  How,  in  191 7.  It  was  the  earliest  of 
the  so-called  picaresque  novels,  or  novels  dealing  with  rogues,  and 
it  served  to  fix  the  type.  The  number  of  such  tales  in  all  European 
languages  has  been  very  numerous  since  "Lazarillo"  set  the  pace. 
Le  Sage's  "Gil  Bias,"  with  its  Spanish  setting,  and  the  novels  of 
Fielding  and  Smollett  and  especially  Defoe  are  good  examples. 

Cervantes 

Miguel  de  Cervantes  was  born  in  the  university  town  of  Alcala, 
in  the  year  1 547.  He  was  seventeen  years  old  when  William  Shake- 
speare was  born  at  Stratford  on  Avon.  These  two  great  European 
writers  died  the  same  year  (161 6)  and  on  almost  the  same  day.^ 
As  a  youth  Cervantes  secured  employment  w  hich  took  him  to  Italy. 
After  two  years — he  was  then  twenty-three — he  rejected  the  op- 
portunity of  civil  preferment  and  enlisted  as  a  private  in  a  Spanish 
regiment.  It  was  the  period  of  the  alliance  between  Spain,  Venice, 
and  the  Pope  against  the  Turk.  Cervantes  was  severely  wounded 
in  the  naval  battle  of  Lepanto,  1571,  and  was  incapacitated  for 
seven  months.  Although  his  left  hand  was  permanently  maimed, 
Cervantes  joined  another  regiment  and  for  three  years  was  attached 
to  its  fortunes.    He  then  secured  his  release  and  sailed  for  home, 

^The  date  was  apparently  the  same,  but  England  was  not  yet  using  the 
Gregorian  calendar,  so  there  was  an  actual  difference  of  several  days. 


SPANISH  LITERATURE 


i«i 


only  to  be  captured  by  Algerine  pirates.  During  the  five  years  of 
his  captivity  in  Algiers  he  showed  himself  a  man  of  great  resource- 
fulness and  nobility  of  character.  Repeated  attempts  at  escape  re- 
sulted in  failure ;  but  his  family,  who  out  of  their  slender  means  had 
been  striving  during  the  entire  period  to  ransom  him,  finally  pro- 
duced an  acceptable  amount,  and  Cervantes  saw  his  home  again 
in  I  s8o.    Two  vears  later 


he  definitely  abandoned 
the  profession  of  arms 
and  devoted  himself  to  lit- 
erature. His  pastoral  ro- 
mance "  Galatea  "  and  the 
twenty  or  thirty  plays 
written  in  the  next  three 
years  brought  him  small 
renown  and  less  money. 
In  the  meantime  he  had 
married,  and  in  1587  or 
thereabouts  he  settled  in 
Seville.  Here  we  find  him 
in  the  office  of  deputy 
purveyor  to  the  Spanish 
Armada,  a  curious  con- 
nection with  the  European 
affairs  of  those  stirring 
days.  Later  he  was  made 
collector  of  revenues.   In 

this  capacity  he  suffered  misfortune  and  for  a  brief  period  was 
thrown  into  prison,  where,  as  we  gather  from  his  own  words,  he  be- 
gan his  ''Don  Quixote."  Subsequently  his  entire  living  was  made  by 
his  pen.  When  the  first  part  of  ''Don  Quixote"  appeared,  in  1605, 
Cervantes  and  his  family  were  living  in  a  very  modest  two-room 
establishment  at  Valladolid.  The  success  of  the  work  was  such  that 
five  editions  were  called  for  within  a  year.  Although  Cervantes' 
chief  ambitions  were  in  the  field  of  the  drama,  it  was  natural  for 
him  to  plan  a  second  part  of  J?is  famous  tale ;  but  he  worked  at  this 


MIGUEL   DE    CERVANTES 


i82  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

only  in  a  desultory  way,  and  perhaps  never  would  have  finished  it 
if  he  had  not  been  spurred  on  by  the  appearance  of  a  spurious  vol- 
ume pretending  to  be  a  continuation  of  "Don  Quixote."  Indignant 
at  this  deception  Cervantes  promptly  finished  his  authentic  Second 
Part,  and  this  appeared  in  1615,  only  a  short  time  before  his  death. 
During  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life  he  and  his  family  had  lived  at 
Madrid  in  humble  circumstances.  Facing  cruel  discouragements 
and  disappointments  that  would  have  broken  many  a  man,  Cer- 
vantes possessed  throughout  his  career  an  indomitable  and  cheerful 
spirit.  His  writings  include  poems,  a  long  series  of  plays,  and  a 
volume  of  tales  entitled  "Novelas  Exemplares"  (1613).  The  last- 
named  collection  deals  with  the  lives  of  rogues  and  vagabonds 
and  hence  belongs  to  picaresque  literature.  Cervantes'  purpose  in 
"Novelas  Exemplares"  was  simply  to  tell  a  tale  in  an  artistic  and 
picturesque  manner.  The  work  has  always  been  popular  in  Spain. 
Among  the  best  of  these  tales  are  "Rinconete  y  Cortadillo,"  "La 
Fuerza  de  la  Sangre,"  and  "La  Espanola  Inglesa." 

''Don  Quixote"  is  as  clearly  the  great  book  of  Spain  as  the  Iliad 
is  of  Greece,  the  "Divine  Comedy"  of  Italy,  or  "Faust"  of  Ger- 
many. No  person  can  read  it  without  appreciating  that  it  is  a  work 
of  genius  of  the  first  rank.  "It  is,"  says  Macaulay,  "the  best  novel 
in  the  world  beyond  all  comparison."  The  tall,  cadaverous,  digni- 
fied,impractical  knight  and  his  shrewd, good-natured,  matter-of-fact, 
rotund  squire  are  perhaps  the  best-known  figures  in  all  imaginative 
literature.  Life  must  indeed  be  dull  to  those  who  have  not  made 
their  acquaintance,  for  they  are  real  creations  and  will  give  delight 
to  the  end  of  time. 

One  of  the  chief  charms  of  the  book,  as  well  as  its  greatest  weak- 
ness, is  that  it  was  apparently  thought  out  by  Cervantes  as  he  went 
along,  and  was  printed  without  revision.  What  it  gains  thereby  in 
naturalness  it  loses  in  other  directions,  for  it  is  inconsistent,  and 
sometimes  verbose  and  slovenly.  It  starts  as  an  attack  upon  the  char- 
acteristic romances  of  chivalry,  but  it  soon  deepens  into  more  than 
that — a  work  imbued  with  a  thoroughly  modern  spirit,  a  work  at 
once  national  and  universal,  teaching  by  transparent  example  the 
dangers  of  trusting  solely  to  blue  b^ood  and  noble  race  and  in- 


EL INCENIOSO 

HIDALGO  DON  QVI- 

XOTE  DE  LA  MANCHA, 

Comfuejio  for  Miguel  de  Ceruanhs 

Saaueara, 

DIRIGIDOAL  DVQVE  DE  B  E  I  A  R, 

Marques  dc  Gibraleon,  Condc  de  Benalcajar ,  y  Bafu- 

res ,  Vizconde  de  la  Puebia  de  Alcozcr,  Sctlor  de 

las  villas  de  Capilla,  Curiel^y 

Burguillos. 


inO; 


i6oJ. 


CONPRIVILEGIO, 
EV.    'MJLDTtlD^  PorluanddaCuefta. 


VendcfccocafadcFriocifcode  R.obIei>librcro  delRey  r\\o{<:r\br^ 

TITLE-PAGE,   FIRST   EDITION   OF   "dON    QUIXOTE " 


1 84  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

herited  prejudice.  The  character  of  Don  Quixote  also  advances  in 
the  author's  estimation  and  in  ours.  His  madness  is  in  one  direction 
only.  He  is  gentle,  courteous,  cultivated,  full  of  enthusiasm ;  in 
due  time  he  makes  us  think  more  than  he  makes  us  laugh.  Sancho 
Panza  appears  at  first  as  a  commonplace  rustic,  ignorant  and  sim- 
ple-minded ;  but  he  soon  takes  his  rightful  place  as  the  direct 
antithesis  of  his  master  and  the  unsparing  though  unconscious 
revealer  of  the  knight's  glorious  inconsistencies  and  unrealities. 
Sancho's  cleverness  increases  with  the  progress  of  the  story,  his 
practical  wisdom  develops,  he  becomes  more  loquacious  and  sen- 
tentious, a  more  superb  liar.  He  has  become  a  citizen  of  the  world. 
There  is  also  an  improvement  in  the  style  and  material  of  the  work. 
The  romantic  stories,  which  Cervantes  introduced  at  first  as  a  con- 
cession to  the  supposed  wishes  of  his  readers,  no  longer  find  a  place. 
The  language  is  simpler,  there  is  more  clever  dialogue,  and  a  greater 
sense  of  freedom  and  power  of  invention. 

The  story  is  so  universally  known  that  a  very  slight  outline  will 
suffice.  Don  Quixote,  a  romantic  gentleman  of  La  Mancha,  the 
most  barren  and  unromantic  tract  of  Spain,  becomes  crazed  by 
reading  tales  of  chivalry,  dons  an  old  suit  of  armor,  and  takes  upon 
himself  the  strange  part  of  a  knight-errant  in  modern  life.  His  pur- 
pose is  to  seek  romantic  adventure,  right  wrongs,  raise  the  fallen, 
deliver  the  captive,  and  kill  giants,  after  the  fashion  of  the  true 
knights  of  old.  In  his  first  sally  he  is  given  the  order  of  knighthood 
by  the  obliging  landlord  of  a  wayside  inn.  His  second  journey  is 
more  eventful.  We  see  him  astride  his  steed  Rocinante  and  accom- 
panied by  the  faithful  Sancho  Panza  mounted  on  Dapple,  the  ass, 
while  the  glorious  Lady  Dulcinea  del  Toboso  has  an  idealized  ex- 
istence in  Don  Quixote's  dreams.  In  nearly  every  adventure  the 
two  travelers  are  losers  rather  than  gainers.  Giants  turn  out  to 
be  windmills.  Sancho  is  tossed  in  a  blanket  in  the  inn  yard  in  de- 
fault of  payment  for  a  night's  lodging.  Galley  slaves  are  freed  only 
to  load  their  liberators  with  abuse.  The  blood  of  a  fierce  enemy 
proves  to  be  merely  wine  from  a  pierced  wine  skin.  Finally,  Don 
Quixote  is  brought  home  ignominiously  in  a  cart,  weakened  in  body, 
but  still  retaining  his  illusions ;  while  his  squire  is  prone  to  admit  de- 


SPANISH  LITERATURE  185 

feat,  though  he  is  hopeful  that  he  may  yet  achieve  the  governorship 
of  an  island  as  the  reward  of  his  services.  The  Second  Part  opens 
with  an  account  of  the  convalescence  of  Don  Quixote  and  the  prep- 
aration for  a  third  journey.  The  conversations  with  the  curate  and 
the  barber  and  the  dialogue  between  Sancho  and  his  master  are 
inimitable.  On  the  journey  the  Lady  Dulcinea  is  sought  by  our 
two  friends,  but  fortunately  is  not  found.  Don  Quixote  vanquishes 
the  Knight  of  the  Mirrors,  has  an  adventure  with  a  lion,  visits  the 
cave  of  IMontesinos,  destroys  a  puppet  show,  and  falls  in  with  a 
hospitable  duke  and  duchess,  who  fool  him  to  the  top  of  his  bent. 
Sancho,  after  wise  instruction  from  his  master,  goes  off  to  his  gov- 
ernorship of  the  "Island  of  Barataria."  Despite  his  downright  good 
sense  in  meeting  his  extraordinary  responsibilities,  Sancho  after  a 
little  time  wisely  decides  to  abdicate  and  to  return  to  simpler  ways 
of  life.  By  a  clever  ruse  the  Knight  of  the  White  Moon  (Don 
Quixote's  fellow  townsman  the  bachelor  Carrasco)  induces  the 
knight  to  return  home,  and  there  his  adventures  are  terminated 
with  his  death  in  the  presence  of  his  devoted  kinsfolk  and  his 
friends,  including  Sancho  Panza,  who  has  followed  his  master's 
fortunes  so  faithfully. 

We  have  said  that  "Don  Quixote"  is  a  national  book.  It  pictures 
marvelously  and  minutely  the  Spain  of  Cervantes'  day — the  plains, 
the  valleys,  the  Sierra  Morena  Mountains,  the  beauties  of  the  coun- 
tryside. It  tells  of  serving-boys,  of  goatherds,  of  inn-keepers  and 
country  wenches  and  traveling  merchants,  of  the  barber  with  his 
basin  on  his  head,  of  Benedictine  monks  walking  under  their  sun- 
shades, of  strolling  players,  and  a  host  of  others.  All  the  more  im- 
portant characters  are  described  with  great  particularity,  and  it  is 
to  be  remarked  that  there  is  not  a  hateful  or  contemptible  one 
among  them  all,  for  the  cheerful,  urbane  Cervantes  believed  in  his 
fellows  and  loved  to  dwell  upon  human  virtues.  The  foibles  of  men 
are  touched  upon  rather  than  their  sins.  "  Don  Quixote  was  always  j 
of  a  gentle  disposition  and  kindly  in  all  his  w-ays,  and  hence  he  was 
beloved,  not  only  by  those  of  his  own  house,  but  by  all  who  knew 
him."  When  Cervantes  wrote  these  words  he  was  perhaps  uncon- 
sciously describing  himself. 


1 86  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  humor  of  "Don  Quixote"  is  of  a  simple  and  spontaneous 
order,  though  it  becomes  more  subtle  as  the  work  develops.  Farce 
passes  easily  into  comedy.  One  of  Cervantes'  early  biographers 
tells  us  that  King  Philip  once  looked  out  of  his  palace  window  and 
saw  a  man  standing  at  the  street  corner  alternately  reading  a  book 
and  beating  his  forehead  in  an  ecstasy  of  mirth.  "That  fellow,"  he 
said,  "is  either  a  madman  or  he  is  reading  'Don  Quixote.'"  The 
exquisite  humor  of  this  immortal  work  fills  us  all,  in  fact,  with  joy. 
It  rests  frequently  in  the  incongruity  between  the  ideas  and  aims  of 
knight  and  squire.  '"It  may  be,'^  said  Don  Quixote,  'that  before 
six  days  are  over,  I  may  have  won  some  kingdom  that  has  others 
dependent  upon  it,  which  will  be  just  the  thing  to  enable  thee  to  be 
crowned  king  of  one  of  them.'  'In  that  case,'  said  Sancho  Panza, 
'if  I  should  become  a  king  by  one  of  those  miracles  your  worship 
speaks  of,  even  Juana  Gutierrez,  my  old  woman,  would  come  to  be 
queen  and  my  children  infantes.'  'Well,  who  doubts  it?'  said  Don 
Quixote.  'I  doubt  it,'  replied  Sancho  Panza,  'because  for  my  part 
I  am  persuaded  that  though  God  should  shower  down  kingdoms 
upon  earth,  not  one  of  them  would  fit  the  head  of  ISIari  Gutierrez. 
Let  me  tell  you,  sefior,  she  is  not  worth  two  maravedis  for  a  queen ; 
countess  will  fit  her  better,  and  that  only  with  God's  help.'"  The 
peerless  Lady  Dulcinea,  to  Don  Quixote's  mind,  possesses  super- 
human beauty,  "since  all  the  impossible  and  fanciful  attributes  of 
beauty  which  the  poets  apply  to  their  ladies  are  verified  in  her." 
But  Sancho,  being  told  of  her  identity,  replies  dryly:  "I  know  her 
well,  and  let  me  tell  you  she  can  fling  a  crowbar  as  well  as  the  lust- 
iest lad  in  all  the  town.  Giver  of  all  good  !  but  she  is  a  brave  lass, 
and  a  right  and  stout  one,  and  fit  to  be  helpmate  to  any  partner 
that  is  or  is  to  be." 

Sancho 's  use  of  the  proverb  is  prodigal.  "I  have,"  he  says, "more 
proverbs  in  me  than  a  book,  and  when  I  speak  they  come  so  thick 
together  into  my  mouth  that  they  fall  to  fighting  among  themselves 
to  get  out."  In  the  entire  work  some  two  hundred  and  fifty-two 
proverbs  are  quoted. 

^The  quotations  are  from  Ormsby's  translation. 


SPANISH  LITERATURE  187 

Don  Quixote's  good  will  toward  his  squire  is  quite  genuine,  and 
in  his  rough  and  ready  way  Sancho  is  devoted  to  his  master.  "Re- 
member, Sancho,"  says  Don  Quixote  when  he  sends  him  off  to  the 
government  of  his  island,  ''if  thou  make  virtue  thy  aim,  and  take  a 
pride  in  doing  virtuous  actions,  thou  wilt  have  no  cause  to  envy 
those  who  are  born  princes  and  lords,  for  blood  is  an  inheritance, 
but  virtue  an  acquisition,  and  virtue  has  in  itself  alone  a  worth  that 
blood  does  not  possess."  He  ends  by  expressing  some  doubts  as  to 
Sancho's  fitness,  but  his  squire's  blunt  common  sense  silences  his 
fears.  "Seiior,"  says  Sancho,  "if  your  worship  thinks  I'm  not  fit  for 
this  government,  I  give  it  up  on  the  spot ;  for  the  mere  black  of  the 
nail  of  my  soul  is  dearer  to  me  than  my  whole  body  ;  and  I  can  live 
just  as  well,  simple  Sancho,  on  bread  and  onions,  as  governor,  on 
partridges  and  capons.  .  .  ,  But  if  your  worship  looks  into  it,  you 
will  see  it  was  your  worship  alone  that  put  me  on  to  this  business  of 
governing;  for  I  know  no  more  about  the  government  of  islands 
than  a  buzzard  ;  and  if  there  's  any  reason  to  think  that  because  of 
my  being  a  governor  the  devil  will  get  hold  of  me,  I'd  rather  go 
Sancho  to  heaven  than  governor  to  hell."  Whereupon  Don  Quixote 
very  properly  admits  that  Sancho  has  "good  natural  instincts, 
without  which  no  knowledge  is  worth  anything." 

And  so  we  leave  this  inimitable  pair  of  philosophers. 

The  Classic  Drama 

In  Spain,  as  in  certain  other  European  countries,  the  classic 
drama  succeeded  the  miracle  and  mystery  play,  the  chronicle  play, 
and  the  interlude.  It  will  be  more  convenient  to  consider  in  a  later 
chapter  these  earlier  phases  of  dramatic  production.  For  the  present 
it  should  be  noted  that  in  Spain  the  classic  drama  was  more  closely 
related  to  the  drama  of  the  Middle  Ages  than  was  the  case  in 
France,  England,  or  Italy.  There  was  not  so  much  attention  paid 
to  artistic  form ;  there  was  more  monotony  and  repetition.  While 
there  was  plenty  of  action,  there  was  little  of  thought  and  character 
development.  Yet  the  Spanish  playwrights  taught  much  to  Europe. 
Their  prolific  themes  were  drawn  upon  by  dramatists  of  other  na- 


i88  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

tions.  The  Frenchman  Le  Sage  wrote,  "The  Spaniards  are  our 
masters  in  the  art  of  planning  and  skilfully  working  out  a  plot." 

Before  the  national  classical  drama  was  perfected  in  Spain,  a 
number  of  interesting  beginnings  had  been  made.  Juan  de  la  Encina 
and  Gil  Vicente,  both  writers  of  the  early  sixteenth  century,  claim 
first  attention.  The  former  is  reckoned  as  the  founder  of  both  the 
Spanish  and  the  Portuguese  theater.  He  was  a  courtier,  a  priest,  and 
a  musician  as  well  as  a  poet  and  dramatist.  More  than  half  of  his 
dramatic  pieces  are  shepherd  plays,  or  eclogues,  written  in  verse  and 
including  songs  and  occasionally  a  dance.  Gil  Vicente  produced 
over  forty  dramatic  pieces,  some  written  in  Castilian  and  some  in 
Portuguese.  Most  of  these  are  short  dramas  of  the  comedy  or  farce 
variety,  keen,  witty,  and  original.  Some  of  the  methods  originated 
by  him  were  accepted  promptly  by  the  European  theaters.  Lope 
de  Rueda,  a  strolling  actor  of  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
is  a  picturesque  and  interesting  figure.  His  properties  were  of  the 
slightest  and  his  themes  were  extremely  simple.  He  chose  his  char- 
acters from  low  life  and  awakened  laughter  through  broad  farce, 
merry  quibbles,  and  mistakes  of  pronunciation,  and  through  comic 
situations.  A  few  of  his  plots  have  come  down  to  us.  His  earliest 
follower  was  Juan  de  Timoneda,  who  wrote  a  number  of  dramatic 
sketches  of  varied  character.  The  best-known  of  these  is  "The 
Blind  Beggars  and  the  Boy." 

It  was  Lope  de  Vega  (1562-1635)  who  developed  the  popular 
drama  and  made  it  a  thing  of  art.  Cervantes,  who  preceded  him  by 
fifteen  years,  was  a  writer  of  plays,  as  we  have  seen,  but  Cervantes 
with  more  genius  had  less  of  the  art  of  the  playwright  and  had 
slighter  inventive  powers.  Lope  de  Vega  served  in  early  manhood 
as  secretary  to  the  Duke  of  Alva ;  then  after  a  spectacular  elope- 
ment with  a  lady  of  the  court  he  shared  as  a  soldier  in  the  disas- 
trous fortunes  of  the  Spanish  Armada.  On  his  return  he  held  another 
secretaryship  for  a  brief  period,  but  for  the  rest  of  his  life  his  chief 
task  was  the  writing  of  plays  and  poems.  In  his  earlier  years  his 
personal  morals  were  anything  but  creditable ;  yet  he  seems  to  have 
had  an  irresistible  charm  of  manner,  and  few  men  have  had  greater 
contemporary  popularity.    There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  his  indus- 


SPANISH  LITERATURE 


189 


try.  Over  three  hundred  of  his  plays  survive  from  a  total  of  about 
eighteen  hundred,  to  say  nothing  of  four  hundred  brief  autos  sacra- 
mentales,  or  symbolical  sacred  plays.  Sismondi  estimates  that  Lope 
produced  on  an  average  a  new  play  of  approximately  three  thou- 
sand verses  every  eight  days !  Lope  himself  tells  us  that  one  hun- 
dred of  his  plays  were  each  written  in  a  single  day.  Small  wonder 
that  the  Spanish  people  called 


him  "the  miracle  of  nature!" 
His  dramatic  pieces  include  (in 
addition  to  comedies  and  trag- 
edies) farces,  mystery  plays, 
dramatized  ballads,  one-act 
religious  plays,  and  plays  of 
plot  and  intrigue  of  the  type 
known  as  the  comedy  of  cloak 
and  sword.  He  always  pre- 
sented national  characteristics, 
such  as  loyalty  to  the  king  and 
respect  for  women.  The  comic 
element  in  Lope  de  Vega's 
plays  was  furnished  by  the 
gracioso — the  clown,  or  clever 
fellow,  a  well-known  figure  in 
the  Spanish  drama  in  general. 
A  high  sense  of  honor,  fre- 
quently exaggerated,  is  also  a  characteristic  feature  of  Spanish  plays. 
The  English  translators  of  Lope  de  Vega  have  not  been  numer- 
ous. Among  his  better-known  plays  are  "The  Discreet  Revenge," 
"The  Battlements  of  Toro,"  "The  Widow  of  Valentia,"  and  "The 
Star  of  Seville."  The  last  is  a  general  favorite.  Its  plot  turns  on  a 
point  of  honor.  The  king  of  Castile,  enamored  of  Estrella  (the  Star 
of  Seville),  is  thwarted  in  his  designs  by  the  girl's  brother  Busto. 
Enraged  by  the  fact  that  Busto  has  drawn  upon  him  and  thus 
touched  his  honor,  the  king  commissions  Sancho,  the  betrothed  of 
Estrella,  to  slay  her  brother.  The  deed  is  committed,  and  the  mar- 
riage of  Sancho  and  Estrella  is  thus,  of  course,  rendered  impossible. 


LOPE   DE   VEGA 


190  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

From  first  to  last  the  play  is  full  of  interest,  and  the  closing  dialogue 
between  the  lovers  is  pathetic  and  moving.^ 

Lope  de  Vega  exercised  a  profound  influence  upon  the  drama 
in  Spain  and  elsewhere.    Before  he  died  there  were,  it  is  said, 
seventy-six  dramatic  writers  in  Castile  alone.     Plays  were  or- 
dinarily   presented    by 
strolling  players  in  inn 
courtyards.     The    stage 
was  a  covered  platform 
at  one  end  of  the  yard. 
Properties  were  few,  and 
there   was   no    scenery. 
Seats  were  provided  on 
the    stage    and    in    the 
rooms    fronting   on   the 
courtyard.     The    more 
common  sort  of  specta- 
tor stood  in  the  open. 
At  the  outset  the  author 
or  chief  actor  addressed 
his  audience;   then  fol- 
lowed a  dance  or  acted 
ballad,    then    the    main 
play  in  three  acts,  and 
at  the  close  a  farce  to 
round  out  the  entertain- 
ment. 
Calderon  ( 1600-168 1)  was  bom  in  Madrid,  like  his  predecessor 
Lope  de  Vega.    Though  he  served  as  a  soldier  for  a  brief  period,  his 
life  was  mostly  devoted  to  literature  and  theatrical  production.    He 
was  ordained  as  a  priest  in  165 1.    In  general  he  led  an  exemplary 
life,  and  charity,  modesty,  and  courtesy  were  his  characteristic 
traits.    In  comparison  with  Lope  de  Vega  he  seems  to  have  been 


PEDRO  CALDERON 


^  See  the  analysis  of  the  play  in  Brander  IVIatthews's  "  Development  of 
the  Drama,"  and  extracts  in  Longfellow's  "Poets  and  Poetr>-  of  Europe" 
and  in  the  Warner  Librar>'. 


SPANISH  LITEIL^TURE  191 

more  of  a  poet  and  less  of  a  dramatist.  He  had  less  force  and 
fertility  of  invention,  less  humor,  and  less  simplicity  and  direct- 
ness. Yet  he  possessed  greater  powers  of  imagination,  was  more 
skillful  in  construction,  and  was  at  his  best  in  tragedy,  especially  in 
the  creation  of  somber  situations.  He  was  supreme  in  his  handling 
of  the  aiitos  sacramentales,  the  one-act  Spanish  symbolical  religious 
plays  that  have  already  been  mentioned.  The  mysteries  of  faith 
seem  to  have  impressed  him  deeply — he  was  a  symbolist  more  than 
a  realist. 

Of  the  one  hundred  comedies  of  Calderon  some  are  well  known. 
Shelley's  free  translation  of  the  "Magico  Prodigioso"  is  justly 
esteemed,  for  it  contains  striking  scenes  and  real  poetry  ;  as,  for 
example,  these  lines: 

"Neither  Fortune, 
The  monstrous  phantom  which  pursues  success, 
That  careful  miser,  that  free  prodigal, 
Who  ever  alternates  with  changeful  hand 
Evil  and  good,  reproach  and  fame ;  nor  Time, 
That  loadstar  of  the  ages,  to  whose  beam 
The  winged  years  speed  o'er  the  intervals 
Of  their  unequal  revolutions ;  nor 
Heaven  itself,  whose  beautiful  bright  stars 
Rule  and  adorn  the  world,  can  ever  make 
The  least  division  between  thee  and  me, 
Since  now  I  find  a  refuge  in  thy  favor." 

Edward  Fitzgerald  has  freely  translated  eight  of  the  dramas  of 
Calderon,  mostly  in  verse.  Of  this  collection  the  best  is  "The 
IMayor  of  Zalamea."  This  play  has  three  acts,  fifteen  scenes,  and  a 
dozen  characters,  one  of  whom,  the  farmer  Pedro  Crespo,  who  after- 
wards becomes  the  mayor,  is  a  real  creation.  The  pictures  of  army 
life  and  of  intrigue  are  well  depicted.  Crespo 's  prompt  action  as 
mayor  in  putting  to  death  the  captain  who  had  dishonored  his 
daughter  brings  the  play  to  a  fine  climax.  In  this,  as  in  Calderon's 
other  plays,  beautiful  lyrics  are  introduced.  He  was,  indeed,  one  of 
the  foremost  of  the  lyric  poets  of  Spain.  Lowell's  poem  "The  Night- 
ingale in  the  Study"  does  not  seem  to  give  him  too  high  praise : 


192  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"A  bird  is  singing  in  my  brain 

And  bubblinR  o'er  with  mingled  fancies, 
Gay,  tragic,  rapt,  right  heart  of  Spain 
Fed  with  the  sap  of  old  romances. 


"Cloaked  shapes,  a  twanging  of  guitars, 
A  rush  of  feet,  and  rapiers  clashing, 
Then  silence  deep  with  breathless  stars, 
And  overhead  a  white  hand  flashing. 

"0  music  of  all  moods  and  climes. 

Vengeful,  forgiving,  sensuous,  saintly, 

Where  still,  between  the  Christian  chimes, 

The  Moorish  cymbal  tinkles  faintly ! 

"Bird  of  to-day,  thy  songs  are  stale 
To  his,  my  singer  of  all  weathers. 
My  Calderon,  my  nightingale, 

My  Arab  soul  in  Spanish  feathers." 

Lyric  Poetry 

From  early  times  to  the  present,  lyric  poetry  has  been  constantly 
produced  in  Spain.  It  would  seem  as  if  the  common  thoughts,  feel- 
ings, and  life  of  the  Spaniard  have  all  found  easy  and  natural  lyric 
expression.  While  it  is  true  that  the  proportion  of  love  poems  is 
comparatively  small  and  that  poets  of  the  first  rank  are  few  in 
Spain,  yet  the  number  of  poets  is  very  considerable.  A  study  of 
Bowring's  "Ancient  Poetry  and  Romances  of  Spain"  and  of  the 
Spanish  section  of  Longfellow's  ''Poets  and  Poetry  of  Europe" 
gives  one  a  vivid  impression  of  the  large  number  of  beautiful,  if 
not  great,  Spanish  poems.  Farnell's  ''Spanish  Prose  and  Poetry" 
may  also  be  consulted. 

Juan  Ruiz,  the  archpriest  of  Hita,  is  esteemed  as  the  most  orig- 
inal of  medieval  Spanish  poets.  He  wrote  six  or  seven  thousand 
lines  of  verse,  mingling  moral  maxims,  religious  admonitions,  and 
fervent  love  passages,  and  displaying  imagination  and  satirical 
power.  His  work  dates  from  the  first  half  of  the  fourteenth  century. 


SPANISH  LITERATURE  193 

Half  a  century  later  appeared  the  Marques  de  Santillana,  who 
wrote  at  a  time  when  allegories  and  artificial  literary  conceits  of  all 
kinds  were  in  vogue.  He  was  a  man  of  great  learning  and  influence 
and  had  much  to  do  with  the  improvement  of  Castilian  poetry. 
Through  his  introduction  of  Italian  classical  and  Renaissance  stand- 
ards his  poems  were  influential  in  the  development  of  the  drama. 
He  also  wrote  a  treatise  on  the  history  of  Spanish  poetry. 

Jorge  Manrique,  of  almost  the  same  period,  a  member  of  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  Spanish  families,  has  left  a  masterpiece — an 
ode  on  the  death  of  his  father,  which  has  been  exquisitely  translated 
by  Longfellow.    We  give  two  of  the  eighty-four  stanzas : 

"Our  lives  are  rivers,  gliding  free 
To  that  unfathomed,  boundless  sea, 

The  silent  grave  : 
Thither  all  earthly  pomp  and  boast 
Roll,  to  be  swallowed  up  and  lost 

In  one  dark  wave. 

"Thither,  the  mighty  torrents  stray, 
Thither,  the  brook  pursues  its  way. 

And  tinkling  rill. 
There  all  are  equal.    Side  by  side, 
The  poor  man  and  the  son  of  pride 

Lie  calm  and  still." 

In  the  Classical  age  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries 
Spain  produced  a  number  of  poets.  Juan  Boscan  and  Garcilaso  de 
la  Vega  brought  about  a  great  change  in  Spanish  poetry  through 
their  eclogues,  epistles,  odes,  and  sonnets,  written  in  Italian  styles 
and  measures.  Fernando  de  Herrera  (died  in  1596),  known  as 
"the  Divine,"  produced  a  series  of  beautiful  lyrics.  An  interesting 
figure  of  the  same  period  is  Fray  Luis  Ponce  de  Leon,  a  friar  and  a 
professor  of  theology.  His  original  poems  are  religious  in  character 
and  are  among  the  most  attractive  that  Spain  has  produced.  These 
sublime  sacred  odes  reveal  a  man  of  meek  and  sweet  character. 
Fray  Luis  is  remembered  also  for  his  translations  from  the  classics, 
the  Psalms,  and  the  Song  of  Songs. 


194  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  mystic  writers  of  the  sixteenth  century  exerted  a  consid- 
erable influence  on  literature  and  thought.  Luis  de  Granada,  a 
Spanish  preacher,  is  remembered  for  his  books  of  prayers  and  med- 
itations. San  Juan  de  la  Cruz  (1542-1591)  is  an  even  more  im- 
portant figure.  His  writings  are  of  a  deeply  devotional  and  mystical 
character — eloquent  and  rich  and  beautiful  in  style  and  diction. 
Santa  Teresa  (died  in  1582)  has  an  international  prominence  and  is 
reckoned  by  some  as  the  greatest  of  Spanish  women.  She  early  took 
the  religious  habit,  possessing  a  most  religious  and  spiritual  nature. 
Her  letters  till  four  volumes.  They  reveal  a  talented,  pure,  and 
womanly  woman  who  believed  herself  to  be  inspired,  and  who  wrote 
with  an  air  of  authority.  The  letters  were  written  boldly  and  rap- 
idly and,  while  unequal  in  value,  are  sometimes  extremely  graceful 
in  style.  Santa  Teresa,  besides  her  letters,  has  left  a  romance  and 
a  number  of  poems. 

In  the  next  century,  apart  from  Lope  de  Vega  and  Calderon, 
both  of  whom  were  poets  as  well  as  dramatists,  the  chief  poetical 
writers  were  Luis  de  Gongora  and  Don  Francisco  Quevedo.  The 
former  was  an  artificial  and  pedantic  writer  who,  however,  influ- 
enced his  generation  considerably  and  had  many  imitators.  Que- 
vedo is  considered  the  greatest  satirist  of  Spain;  he  achieved 
distinction  both  in  prose  and  in  verse.  His  poems  are  brilliant 
and  humorous. 

The  eighteenth  century  was  a  time  of  decline  in  poetry  as  in 
other  branches  of  literature.  Nicolas  Fernandez  de  ]\Ioratin  was 
the  chief  poet  and  was  also  a  waiter  of  tragedies  and  comedies,  one 
of  which  was  the  first  Spanish  play  constructed  on  the  French 
dramatic  model.  His  most  widely  known  poem,  "The  Ships  of 
Cortes  Destroyed,"  is  one  of  the  best  of  Spanish  epics.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  nineteenth  century  stands  IManuel  Jose  Quintana, 
poet,  skeptic,  historian,  and  critic. 

The  Modern  Period 
Earlier  literature  of  the  modern  period.    Spain  in  her  more 
recent  literature  has  shown  herself  influenced  powerfully  by  the 
general  currents  of  European  thought.    Jose  de  Espronceda  ( 1810- 


SPANISH  LITERATURE  195 

1842),  the  brilliant  youth  with  a  fiery  soul,  was  strongly  attracted 
to  Byron  and  possessed  some  of  Byron's  characteristics.  He  sug- 
gests also  the  Italian  Leopardi,  his  contemporary.  Espronceda  had 
a  passionate  love  for  freedom,  a  romantic  impulse,  a  spirit  of  revolt, 
— qualities  that  found  expression  in  lyric  poems  full  of  passion  and 
beauty,  in  the  lyric  drama  "El  Estudiante  de  Salamanca,"  and  in 
the  narrative  poem,  unfinished  at  his  death,  ''El  Diablo  Mundo" 
("The  World  Spirit").  Always  a  liberal,  he  took  part  in  the  for- 
tunes of  the  revolutionary  movement  in  Spain.  At  times  he  lived 
in  England  and  France.  In  his  brief  career  of  thirty-two  years  he 
earned  the  right  to  be  considered  the  leading  Spanish  lyric  poet  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  Rivas  (i 791-1865), Zorrilla  (18 17-1893), 
and  Becquer  (1836-1870)  are  romantic  poets.  Their  work  is  in- 
teresting, but  in  our  narrow  limits  cannot  be  dwelt  upon. 

In  the  field  of  the  novel  the  modern  literature  of  Spain  has  ex- 
celled. "Fernan  Caballero"  (1796-1877)  wrote  many  tales,  for  the 
most  part  sketches  of  modern  life.  She  was  by  birth  half  German, 
but  in  all  her  instincts  wholly  Spanish.  She  hid  her  real  name, 
Cecilia  Bohl  von  Faber,  in  a  masculine  pseudonym,  like  George 
Sand  and  George  Eliot.  Her  first  and  best  book,  "La  Gaviota" 
("The  Sea  Gull"),  was  published  after  she  had  reached  fifty  years 
of  age ;  it  brought  her  instant  fame.  She  delighted  to  picture  the 
intimate  life  of  Andalusia,  the  manners,  character,  and  habits  of  its 
people ;  and  she  also  showed  a  fondness  for  nature,  for  old  legends, 
ballads,  and  folklore.  Don  Pedro  A.  de  Alarcon  (1833-1891),  very 
popular  in  his  day,  is  remembered  chiefly  for  his  picaresque  tale 
"El  Sombrero  de  Tres  Picos"  ("The  Three-Cornered  Hat")  and  for 
his  three  volumes  of  short  stories,  "Novelas  Cortas."  Of  more  con- 
sequence are  Juan  Valera  (1824-1905)  and  Jose  INIaria  de  Pereda 
(1833-1906).  The  former  is  a  brilliant  stylist,  gifted  as  a  short- 
story  writer  and  the  author  of  several  novels,  of  which  the  first, 
"Pepita  Jimenez."  is  probably  the  best.  Pereda  is  more  realistic 
and  more  orthodox.  He  is  at  home  in  his  descriptions  of  life  in  the 
mountains  of  the  north  of  Spain,  as  in  his  novel  "Don  Gonzalo 
Gonzalez  de  la  Gonzalera."  City  life  is  the  theme  of  his  "Pedro 
Sanchez."    Realistic  fiction  in  Spain  owes  much  to  Pereda. 


196  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Recent  literature.  There  can  be  no  question  that  Spain  is  taking 
a  place  of  considerable  importance  in  the  current  literature  of 
Europe,  and  this  in  the  fields  of  drama,  poetry,  and  fiction  alike. 
Conflict  between  the  old  and  the  new  is  exercising  Spain  more  per- 
haps than  any  other  country  of  Europe.  There  is  a  very  striking 
difference  between  the  Spanish  works  of  the  last  generation  and 
those  of  today.  The  publishers'  lists  each  season  in  Spain  contain 
works  of  great  merit,  and  the  number  seems  to  be  constantly 
increasing. 

The  Spanish  drama  has  not  been  deeply  influenced  by  the  Real- 
ism and  Naturalism  of  other  countries.  However,  great  advances 
have  been  made ;  the  new  drama  is  finely  adapted  to  the  present- 
day  needs  of  Spain.  Jose  Echegaray  (1833-1916)  ushered  in  the 
newer  type  of  play.  He  achieved  extraordinary  success  in  "El  Gran 
Galeoto."  It  presents  a  remarkable  study.  The  principal  figure 
does  not  appear  at  any  time  on  the  stage,  but  is  felt  as  a  vital  force 
affecting  for  evil  the  entire  progress  of  the  action.  Over  fifty  plays 
were  wTitten  by  Echegaray.  A  great  many  dramas  have  also  been 
produced  by  Perez  Galdos,  of  which  "The  Duchess  of  San  Quen- 
tin  "  ^  is  perhaps  the  most  representative.  He  has  a  serious  purpose, 
and  his  thought  is  lofty  and  highly  idealistic.  Jacinto  Benavente  is 
a  phenomenon  of  the  day.  He  has  written  almost  one  hundred 
plays — witty,  satirical,  brilliant,  the  work  of  a  real  dramatic  artist. 
He  has  entered  very  successfully  even  the  field  of  the  allegorical 
drama.  A  volume  of  his  plays  in  English  has  recently  appeared.^ 
The  comedies  of  the  brothers  Alvarez  Quintero  are  full  of  color  and 
present  many  interesting  types.  Martinez  Sierra  has  produced  plays 
and  lyric  dramas.  He  portrays  the  best  of  modern  Spanish  life.  He 
is  an  idealist  and  has  sometimes  been  compared  to  Maeterlinck. 

The  Modernist  movement  in  Spanish  poetr>'  had  its  beginning, 
it  is  interesting  to  note,  in  the  work  of  Ruben  Dario,  the  Nicara- 
guan  poet.  Sierra,  already  mentioned,  is  noted  for  his  poetry  as  well 
as  for  his  plays ;  so  is  Eduardo  IMarquina,  who  has  achieved  success 

^This  and  other  plays  are  included  in  the  volume  of  translations  entitled 
"Masterpieces  of  Modern  Spanish  Drama." 
-Published  by  Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 


SPANISH  LITERATURE  197 

in  poetry,  lyric  drama,  and  tragedy  alike.  Salvator  Rueda  and 
Juan  Jimenez  are  two  other  popular  poets.  The  latter,  in  addition 
to  a  number  of  melancholy  lyrics  of  rare  beauty,  has  written  force- 
ful prose.  Francisco  Villaespesa,  the  author  of  many  exquisite  son- 
nets, has  great  lyric  power  and  beauty  of  style.  In  his  elegies  he 
expresses  in  a  wonderful  way  the  sense  of  the  desolation  that  comes 
from  bereavement.  The  list  of  Spanish  poets  is  a  long  one — we 
have  mentioned  only  a  few  representative  names. 

In  closing  our  sketch  of  recent  Spanish  literature  we  give  a  sug- 
gestion of  what  has  been  accomplished  recently  in  the  field  of  fic- 
tion. Armando  Palacio  Valdes,  representing  the  new  Realistic 
school,  has  won  a  great  reputation.  His  story  "Jose,"  presenting  the 
life  of  a  fishing-village,  has  been  widely  translated  into  the  languages 
of  Europe.  Another  realistic  writer  is  that  remarkable  woman 
Emilia  Pardo  Bazan,  who  has  excelled  in  other  fields  perhaps  even 
more  than  in  fiction.  Perez  Galdos  has  already  been  mentioned. 
His  prose  is  perhaps  more  highly  esteemed  than  his  plays.  ''Episo- 
dios  Nacionales,"  brilliantly  written,  are  novels  treated  from  the 
historical  point  of  view.  His  "Dona  Perfecta,"  a  religious  novel, 
has  been  widely  read  in  English,  but  is  an  unpleasant  story  at  best. 
Ricardo  Leon  turns  in  his  novels  to  an  earlier  time  for  his  inspira- 
tion. In  an  age  of  doubt  he  seeks  to  revive  the  impulses  of  the 
period  of  chivalry  and  faith.  Such  is  the  aim  of  "El  Amor  de  los 
Amores."  Another  of  his  novels  has  been  translated  into  English 
under  the  title  "Son  of  the  Hidalgos."^  Valle-Inclan  is  an  interest- 
ing figure  among  present-day  novelists  and  also  has  won  distinction 
as  a  litterateur.  Pio  Baroja  is  a  brilliant  and  epigrammatic  writer. 
One  of  his  successes  is  the  story  of  a  commonplace  young  man  of 
large  ambitions,  recently  translated  into  English  under  the  title 
"Caesar  or  Nothing."  His  autobiographical  volume  has  also  ap- 
peared in  an  English  translation  "Youth  and  Egolatry."-  Blasco 
Ibaiiez  (born  1866)  is  looked  upon  by  many  as  one  of  the  chief 
literary  men  of  our  day.  He  is  a  prolific  writer.  Perhaps  no  other 
story  of  the  World  War  has  had  such  vogue  as  "The  Four  Horse- 

^  Published  by  Doublcday,  Page  &  Company. 

2 Both  of  the  books  cited  are  published  by  Alfred  A.  Knopf. 


1 98  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

men  of  the  Apocalypse."  His  other  war  novel,  "Mare  Nostrum," 
was  less  successful.  Both  have  striking  scenes  but  are  marred  by 
unworthy  passages.  "The  Shadow  of  the  Cathedral"  has  greater 
strength  than  either.  It  is  notable  for  the  impression  which  it  con- 
veys of  the  cathedral  in  Toledo  and  for  its  frank  discussion  of  the 
Church  question  in  Spain.  The  general  appraisal  of  the  writings  of 
Blasco  Ibafiez  and  of  other  recent  Spanish  novelists  cannot  be  made 
as  yet,  but  the  modern  novel  clearly  owes  much  to  Spain. 

It  is  evident  that  the  wit  of  Cervantes,  the  imagination  of  Lope  de 
Vega,  and  the  profound  philosophy  of  Calderon  are  not  lying  dor- 
mant, but  are  alive  today  in  the  work  of  many  important  authors  in 
the  land  to  which  they  give  such  distinction. 

Reference  List 

Chapman.    A  History  of  Spain.    The  Macinillan  Company. 
Fitzmaurice-Kelly.     History   of  Spanish  Literature.     D.  Appleton  and 

Company. 
Fitzmaurice-Kelly.    Chapters    on    Spanish    Literature.    G.    P.    Putnam's 

Sons. 
Ford.    Main  Currents  of  Spanish  Literature.    Henry  Holt  and  Company. 
TiCKNOR.    History    of   Spanish    Literature    (3    vols.).    Houghton    Mifflin 

Company. 
Spence.    Legends  and  Romances  of  Spain.    Frederick  A.  Stokes  Company. 
Underhill.     Spanish    Literature    in    the    England    of    the    Tudors.     The 

Macmillan  Company. 
O.xford  Book  of  Spanish  Verse  gives  the  Spanish  text  only.    Oxford  Uni- 
versity Press. 
A  few  other  books  are  cited  in  the  text  of  this  chapter. 
Translations: 

Cambridge  Readings  in  Spanish  Literature.    Cambridge  University  Press. 

Farncll's  Spanish  Prose  and  Poetry.     Oxford  University  Press. 

Ballads  (Lockhart,  Morlcy,  and  Longfellow  versions). 

The  Cid  (Ormsby). 

Don  QuLxote   (several  editions  available;   the  Ormsby  translation  is  to 

be  preferred). 
Calderon    (Fitzgerald:     Eight    Dramas    of    Calderon).    The   Macmillan 

Company. 
Calderon   is   included  in   Foreign   Classics  for   English   Readers  series. 

J.  B.  Lippincott  Company;  send  for  list. 
Masterpieces    of    Modern    Spanish    Drama    (Clark    Ed.).      Duffield    & 

Company. 
Blasco  Ibaiiez's  works.    E.  P.  Dutton  &  Company. 


SPANISH  LITERATURE  199 


Suggested  Topics 

A  study  of  "The  Cid." 

Spanish  and  English  ballads — a  comparison. 

Spain  in  her  great  period. 

"Amadis  de  Gaula"  and  the  romances  of  chivalry. 

Life  of  Cervantes. 

The  story  of  "Don  Quixote." 

A  study  of  the  humor  of  "Don  Quixote." 

Proverbs  from  "  Don  Quixote." 

Lope  de  Vega  and  his  plays. 

Caldcron  and  his  plays. 

A  study  of  a  modern  Spanish  novel. 

A  study  of  a  recent  Spanish  play. 


I 


CHAPTER  VIII 

FRENCH   LITERATURE 

Origins  of  the  French  People  and  Language 

Our  knowledge  of  the  inhabitants  of  what  we  now  know  as  the 
land  of  France  is  ver\'  meager  until  the  time  of  Caesar.  The  land 
was  referred  to  by  the  Romans  as  Gaul,  and  Caesar  mentions  three 
tribes  as  occupying  it  at  the  time  of  his  campaigns— the  Belgians, 
the  Celts,  and  the  Aquitanians.  They  probably  had  Celtic  and 
Germanic  connections.  From  the  time  of  Caesar's  conquests  (58- 
50  B.C.)  to  the  beginning  of  the  break-up  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
Gaul  remained  a  pretty  thoroughly  Romanized  province.  At  the 
time  of  the  great  movements  of  the  barbarian  races  in  the  fifth  cen- 
tury of  the  Christian  Era  it  was  the  Franks,  a  Germanic  tribe  from 
the  lower  Rhine  region,  who  secured  the  strongest  foothold  in  Gaul. 
We  can  touch  only  lightly  on  the  historical  events  prior  to  the  be- 
ginnings of  French  literature.  Among  the  most  important  are  the 
extension  of  the  Frankish  kingdom  under  Clovis  and  his  successors 
in  the  sixth  centur>%  the  defeat  of  the  Saracens  by  Charles  Martel 
at  Tours  in  732,  and  the  enlightened  reign  of  Charlemagne,  to- 
gether with  the  extension  and  transformation  of  his  kingdom  into 
the  Holy  Roman  Empire  in  the  year  800.  After  his  death  there 
followed  a  period  of  decline,  confusion,  and  practical  anarchy. 
The  Capetian  line  of  kings,  with  its  troublesome  group  of  semi- 
independent  nobles,  worked  out  for  itself  during  the  eleventh  and 
twelfth  centuries  the  political  and  economic  order  known  as  the 
feudal  system. 

The  language  spoken  in  the  Romanized  province  of  Gaul  was  a 
form  of  Latin  similar  to  that  of  Rome  itself.  This,  however,  in 
France  as  in  the  various  other  Western  lands,  became  transformed 
with  the  passing  of  the  centuries  into  a  kind  of  debased,  or  simplified, 


FRENCH  LITER.ATURE  201 

Latin,  as  indicated  in  the  chapter  on  ItaUan  literature.  The  lan- 
guage of  the  invading  Franks  was  a  Germanic  dialect,  but  the 
Franks  accepted  more  from  the  language  of  their  new  home  than 
they  contributed  to  it.  The  result  was  a  form  of  speech  still  further 
simplified,  with  only  a  small  addition  of  Germanic  words.  Thus, 
alongside  the  written  language,  which  remained  Latin  of  a  com- 
paratively pure  form,  there  grew  up  gradually  the  common  speech, 
known  at  first  as  Romance  and  later  as  French.  The  earliest  ex- 
ample of  this  Old  French,  or  Romana  Rustica,  as  it  was  called,  is 
the  document  known  as  the  Strasbourg  Oaths  (842),  in  which  the 
two  brothers  Charles  the  Bald  and  Louis  made  their  pledges  re- 
spectively in  the  French  and  Teutonic  forms  of  the  language.  Old 
French  not  long  afterward  divided  into  the  Langue  d'Oil,  or  speech 
of  the  North,  and  the  Langue  d'Oc,  or  Provengal,  that  of  the  South. 
Various  historical  circumstances  contributed  to  the  extension  of  the 
Northern  speech,  so  that  it  finally  became  the  accepted  standard 
for  the  whole  of  France.  Modern  French,  as  distinguished  from  Old 
French,  may  be  said  to  date  from  about  the  time  of  Villon,  toward 
the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century.  The  French  language,  although 
a  member  of  the  Romance  group,  represents  a  much  wider  depar- 
ture from  the  Latin  than  do  the  Italian  and  Spanish  languages. 

The  French  Spirit  in  Literature 

France  has  been  the  schoolmaster  of  western  Europe  in  the  mat- 
ter of  conscientious  devotion  to  form  and  style.  There  is  in  the  best 
French  writers  an  ambition  to  clothe  great  ideas  in  appropriate  and 
adequate  form — an  ambition  which  has  been  in  a  very  large  meas- 
ure happily  fulfilled.  It  is  true  that  this  devotion  to  form  has  at 
certain  periods  fallen  into  a  rather  barren  formalism.  But  on  the 
whole  the  tendency  to  formal  and  stylistic  excellence,  fostered 
throughout  almost  the  entire  modern  period  by  the  labors  of  the 
French  Academy  and  other  similar  bodies,  has  been  an  influence  for 
good. 

So  far  as  substance  is  concerned,  French  literature  has  exhibited 
two  apparently  contradictory  tendencies.    The  bulk  of  it  reveals  a 


202  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

bold  and  fearless  invasion  of  all  the  fields  of  human  thought — a 
serious  attempt  to  reach  the  truth  of  the  matter  at  the  cost  of 
traditional  loyalties  of  many  sorts.  The  apparently  contradictory 
tendency— the  comic  spirit,  the  esprit  gaulois,  the  satirical  tone  of 
banter  and  raillery— has  actually  reenforced  the  more  serious  side 
of  the  literary  product.  The  two  go  hand  in  hand  in  a  general  way, 
though  not  always  found  in  combination  in  the  same  writer  or  lit- 
erary movement. 

The  Medieval  Period 

The  "Song  of  Roland."  For  the  purposes  of  our  study  the 
literature  of  France  may  be  said  to  begin  with  the  epic  splendor  of 
the  "Song  of  Roland."  It  is  an  idealized  presentation  of  the  battle 
of  Roncesvalles  and  the  heroic  exploits  of  the  peers  of  Charlemagne 
in  that  action. 

The  first  part  of  the  poem  recounts  the  treachery  of  Ganelon,  who,  to 
satisfy  his  deep-seated  enmity  against  Roland,  the  greatest  of  the  peers, 
betrays  the  rearguard  of  Charlemagne's  army,  which  is  in  charge  of  Ro- 
land, into  the  hands  of  the  Saracens.  The  second  part  deals  with  the 
battle  itself.  '"Great  is  the  host  of  the  heathen,'  saith  Oliver,  'and  few 
is  our  fellowship.  Roland,  fair  comrade,  I  pray  thee,  sound  thy  horn 
of  ivor>',  that  Charles  may  hear  it  and  return  again  with  all  his  host.'"^ 
But  Roland  in  his  pride  refuses.  The  battle  cry  of  Montjoie  is  raised 
by  the  host.  "Then  they  rode  forward,  God,  how  proudly;  spurring 
their  horses  for  the  more  speed,  and  fell  a-smiting — how  else  should 
they  do?"  The  battle  is  described  as  consisting  chiefly  of  a  series  of 
personal  encounters,  in  which  nearly  all  the  Saracen  barons  are  slain. 
But  finally  the  tide  begins  to  turn,  and  after  five  terrific  onsets  only 
sixty  of  Roland's  men  remain  alive.  "With  dolor  and  pain,  and  in  great 
torment,  Count  Roland  blows  his  horn  of  ivory,  that  the  bright  blood 
springs  out  of  his  mouth,  and  the  temples  of  his  brain  are  broken. 
Mighty  is  the  blast  of  the  horn,  and  Charles,  passing  the  mountains, 
hears  it."  One  after  one,  Oliver,  Count  Walter,  Archbishop  Turpin,  are 
stricken  down.  Roland  staggers  a  spear's  cast  over  the  Spanish  line  and 
up  a  little  hill.    "He  has  turned  his  face  toward  Spain,  and  he  begins 

'The  quotations  are  from  the  translation  by  Isabel  Butler,  published  by 
Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  203 

to  call  many  things  to  remembrance — all  the  lands  he  had  won  by  his 
valor,  and  sweet  France,  and  the  men  of  his  lineage,  and  Charles  his 
liege  lord,  who  had  brought  him  up  in  his  household ;  and  he  cannot 
help  but  weep.  .  .  .  And  again  he  confesses  his  sins  and  begs  forgive- 
ness of  God.  .  .  .  With  his  right  hand  he  offers  his  glove  to  God,  and 
Saint  Gabriel  has  taken  it  from  his  hand.  Then  his  head  sinks  on  his 
arm,  and  with  clasped  hands  he  hath  gone  to  his  end.  And  God  sent  his 
cherubim,  and  Saint  Michael  of  the  Seas,  and  with  them  went  Saint 
Gabriel,  and  they  carried  the  soul  of  the  count  into  Paradise."  The 
final  section  of  the  poem  recounts  the  return  of  Charles  with  his  army, 
his  pursuit  and  slaughter  of  the  enemy,  the  bearing  of  the  bodies  of  Ro- 
land, Oliver,  and  Turpin  to  France,  the  death  of  Aude,  the  sister  of 
Oliver,  upon  learning  the  fate  of  her  lover  Roland,  and  the  ordeal  by 
battle  which  determines  the  guilt  of  Ganelon,  who  is  torn  asunder  by 
four  stallions,  and  whose  kindred  are  hanged. 

It  is  with  this  baptism  of  blood  and  slaughter  that  French  litera- 
ture emerges  into  view.  The  ''Song  of  Roland"  is  a  poem  of  four 
thousand  ten-syllable  lines.  It  is  divided  into  stanzas  of  irregular 
length  and  employs  assonance^  rather  than  regular  rime.  The  date 
of  its  composition  was  about  the  end  of  the  eleventh  century.  It  is 
written  in  a  stately  and  sonorous  but  somewhat  straggling  style, 
with  passages  of  fine  descriptive  power  and  frequent  use  of  epic  rep- 
etition. It  may  be  assumed  to  present  a  fairly  accurate  statement 
of  the  ideals  of  Charlemagne's  time — the  aristocratic  ideals  of 
battle  prowess,  loyal  vassalage,  comradeship,  and  a  rather  formal 
religious  devotion.  It  is  the  best  example  of  a  group  of  poems  known 
as  chansons  de  geste  ("songs  of  great  deeds"),  the  subject  matter 
of  which  was  for  the  most  part  episodes  from  French  history,  cen- 
tered chiefly  in  the  Emperor  Charlemagne.  They  were  produced  in 
large  numbers  from  the  end  of  the  eleventh  to  the  end  of  the  four- 
teenth century,  although  only  about  a  hundred  have  come  down  to 
us.  Among  the  most  important,  aside  from  the  "Song  of  Roland," 
are  "Amis  and  Amiles,"  presenting  the  theme  of  devoted  comrade- 
ship, somewhat  as  pictured  by  Chaucer  in  the  "Knight's  Tale"; 
"Fierabras,"  in  which  is  treated  the  favorite  theme  of  a  Christian 
knight's  falling  in  love  with  a  beautiful  Saracen  princess;  and 

'For  a  definition  of  this  term  sec  page  174. 


204  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"Huon  de  Bordeaux,"  with  its  fairy  motive  and  the  figure  of 
Oberon.  In  all  these  poems  we  find  a  certain  similarity  in  type  of 
incident,  emphasis  on  the  motives  of  war  and  religion,  strong  but 
rather  crude  characterization,  and  high  intensity  of  narrative  move- 
ment.   Their  authorship  is  wholly  unknown. 

Running  parallel  in  date  of  composition  with  the  chansons  de 
gcstes  were  the  romances  of  Arthur.  The  development  of  the 
Arthurian  cycle  in  France,  as  in  England,  was  effected  through  the 
gradual  connection  and  fusion  of  stories.  Many  of  them  were  orig- 
inally quite  independent  of  Arthur  himself,  but  all  finally  became 
merged  into  a  great  cycle  of  which  he  forms  the  center,  as  Charle- 
magne does  of  the  chansons  de  gestes.  The  Arthurian  stories,  as 
developed  in  France,  appeared  first  in  the  form  of  prose  romances. 
Some  of  the  best  of  these  were  from  the  hand  of  Walter  Map,  who 
spent  most  of  his  life  in  England  and  probably  drew  largely  upon 
English  sources  for  his  material.  The  most  conspicuous  name,  how- 
ever, in  the  development  of  the  French  Arthurian  cycle  is  that  of 
Chrestien  de  Troyes,  who  lived  about  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury and  who  popularized  many  of  the  stories  by  putting  them  into 
excellent  poetic  form.  So  far  as  subject  matter  is  concerned,  the 
element  of  original  and  significant  value  in  the  Arthurian  romance 
is  that  of  chivalry.  Of  this  remarkable  institution  we  can  mention 
only  the  distinguishing  features.  First  of  all,  there  is  the  sentiment 
of  loyal  devotion  to  one's  lord,  together  with  the  delight  in  combat 
w^hich  naturally  goes  with  it.  Second,  we  have  the  emphasis  on  the 
refinement  and  grace  of  courtly  manners — the  ideal  of  courtesy,  re- 
vealing itself,  for  example,  in  deference  to  ladies,  in  the  elaborate 
rules  of  the  tournament,  and  in  the  high  sense  of  honor  in  dealing 
with  a  worthy  enemy.  The  third  notable  element  is  that  of  religious^ 
exaltation,  most  fully  expressed  through  the  mystic  splendor  of  the 
Grail,  probably  the  richest  and  deepest  symbol  of  medieval  ex- 
f)erience.^    And,  finally,  we  have  the  element  of  romantic  love,  a 

^The  Grail  was  the  cup  used  by  Jesus  and  his  disciples  at  the  Last  Supper. 
It  was,  according  to  tradition,  committed  to  the  keeping  of  the  Knights  of 
the  Grail,  but  upon  the  failure  of  that  group  to  live  up  to  its  holy  vows  the 
Grail  disappeared.  Going  in  quest  of  it  constituted  the  highest  adventure  of 
medieval  knighthood. 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  205 

supreme  devotion  to  one's  lady — not  usually  one's  wife,  for  romance 
was  commonly  conceived  of  as  coming  to  an  end  with  the  conven- 
tion of  marriage.  The  inspiration  to  lofty  conduct  which  comes  with 
such  devotion  was  not  seldom  combined  with  a  sense  of  tragic  fate  ; 
as,  for  example,  in  the  stories  of  Lancelot  and  Tristram.  These 
ideals,  with  the  exception  of  the  first, — that  of  vassalage  and  com- 
bat,— while  not  altogether  lacking  in  the  Charlemagne  stories,  are 
so  slender  as  to  be  practically  negligible.  They  constitute,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  peculiar  excellence  of  the  Arthurian  stories  and 
impart  to  them  a  richer,  more  mellow,  more  appealing  quality  than 
the  chansons  de  gestes  afford. 

A  third  division  of  heroic  narrative,  parallel  in  time  with  the 
Charlemagne  and  Arthurian  cycles,  is  that  of  the  romances  of 
antiquity.  These  are  in  verse  form  and  present  under  the  glamor  of 
medieval  chivalry  the  exploits  of  Alexander,  ^Eneas,  and  Caesar,  the 
stories  of  Troy  and  of  Thebes,  and  many  other  tales  from  classical 
sources. 

In  the  field  of  lyric  poetry  also  we  find  that  medieval  France  has 
much  to  be  proud  of.  Here  again  it  is  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries  that  show  the  climax  of  poetic  power.  The  Provenqal 
poets,  writing  in  the  Langue  d'Oc,  or  dialect  of  the  south  of  France, 
— sofi,  mellow,  harmonious,  beautifully  cadenced, — and  choosing 
for  the  most  part  the  themes  of  romantic  passion  and  chivalric  de- 
votion, have  exerted  a  strong  influence  upon  lovers  of  sensuous 
poetry  from  their  own  day  to  ours.    Bernart  de  Ventadorn  writes : 

"No  marvel  is  it  if  I  sing 
Better  than  other  minstrels  all ; 
For  more  than  they  I  am  love's  thrall, 
And  all  myself  therein  I  fling." ^ 

The  very  names  of  the  Provencal  poets  have  a  haunting  sound  in 
one's  ears:  Arnaut  Daniel,  Bertran  de  Born,  Piere  Vidal,  Jaufre 
Rudel,  singers  of  love  songs  according  to  the  models  of  their  times 
— sirvente,  retroensa,  balada — far  away  and  long  ago. 

The  contemporary  group  of  lyric  poets  in  the  north  of  France  are 
frank,  exuberant,  spontaneous,  free  in  their  tears  and  laughter, 
1  Translation  by  H.  W.  Preston. 


2o6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

graceful  and  melodious  in  their  versification,  and  filled  with  a  truly 
poetic  sensibility.  Thus,  in  the  words  of  Marie  de  France,  the  lover 
addresses  her  dead  love : 

"A  little  space  below  the  grass, 
Out  of  the  sun  and  shade, 
But  worlds  away  from  me,  alas, 
Down  there  where  you  are  laid."^ 

The  lyrics  of  the  fourteenth  century,  while  achieving  a  more  per- 
fect form,  did  so  somewhat  at  the  expense  of  poetic  spirit  and  feel- 
ing. This  period  witnessed  the  formal  crystallization  of  the  ballade, 
rondeau,  and  other  artificial  forms  into  the  guise  in  which  we  still 
know  them.  There  is  much  of  graceful  and  dainty  and  delicate 
emotion,  but  the  sincerity  and  directness  of  the  earlier  lyrics  are 
not  often  present.  The  memorable  names  in  this  period  are  Chris- 
tine de  risan,  a  woman  of  true  poetic  gift ;  Alain  Chartier,  the  plain- 
tive poet  of  "La  Belle  Dame  sans  Merci "  and  the  friend  of  the  poor 
and  the  outcast ;  and  Charles  d'Orleans,  long  a  political  prisoner  in 
England,  beguiling  his  days  with  the  composition  of  exquisitely 
finished  poems,  like  the  rondeau  beginning : 

"We'll  to  the  woods  and  gather  may, 
Fresh  from  the  footprints  of  the  rain ; 
We'll  to  the  woods,  at  every  vein 
To  drink  the  spirit  of  the  day."^ 

A  few  words  as  to  the  composition  and  circulation  of  the  epic 
and  lyric  poetry  of  medieval  France  may  be  in  order.  The  poet,  or 
composer,  was  known  in  the  North  as  troiivere  and  in  the  South  as 
troubadour — variant  forms  of  the  same  word,  meaning  literally 
"  finder,"  "  inventor,"  "  maker."  It  was  still  some  two  or  three  hun- 
dred years  before  printing  was  to  come  to  the  aid  of  the  poet,  and 
therefore  publication  was  mainly  by  word  of  mouth.  Sometimes, 
especially  in  the  castle  hall  and  before  an  aristocratic  audience,  the 
poet  himself  recited  his  love  lyric  or  his  passionate  tale  of  knightly 

^Translation  by  Arthur  O'Shaughnessy. 
2  Translation  by  W.  E.  Henley. 


FRENXH  LITERATURE  207 

romance.  More  commonly,  however,  the  recitation  or  chanting  of 
the  poem  was  by  a  jongleur,  a  professional  reciter,  who  gathered  a 
crowd  about  him  in  the  town  square,  or  in  the  market  place,  or  be- 
fore the  church  door,  and,  having  secured  the  attention  of  his  au- 
dience by  a  bit  of  tumbling  or  juggling  by  himself  or  his  assistant, 
launched  into  the  story  of  Roland  or  of  Ogier  the  Dane  or  of  Mer- 
lin. He  heightened  his  narrative  by  all  the  resources  of  voice,  ex- 
pression, posture,  and  gesture  at  his  command,  stopped  at  critical 
points  in  the  story  to  take  up  a  collection,  and  finally  arrived  at  his 
glowing  conclusion. 

Along  with  the  prose  romance  and  the  epic  and  lyric  types  of 
poetry  went  also  the  allegorical  poem.  The  supreme  example  of 
this  in  French  literature  is  ''The  Romance  of  the  Rose,"  begun 
by  Guillaume  de  Lorris,  who  wrote  about  forty-five  hundred  lines, 
and  continued  by  Jean  de  ]Meun  to  nearly  twenty-three  thousand 
lines.  It  is  a  dream  story  of  the  lover's  quest  of  the  rose,  or  love, 
and  the  characters  are  Courtesy,  Reason,  Danger,  False  Seeming, 
and  the  like.  Lorris's  portion  is  in  praise  of  that  body  of  fantastic 
sentiment  known  as  the  "court  of  love"  and  is  of  remarkably  high 
poetic  value  in  both  form  and  substance.  Chaucer's  translation  of 
a  portion  (about  seventeen  hundred  lines)  will  give  the  reader  of 
English  a  fairly  good  idea  of  Lorris's  part  of  the  poem.  Jean  de 
Meun  turns  the  quest  into  a  somewhat  cynical  satire  upon  the  fol- 
lies and  shortcomings  of  the  society  of  his  times. 

Medieval  society  in  France  had,  of  course,  its  popular  as  well  as 
its  aristocratic  level,  and  this  humbler  sphere  of  life  is  represented 
by  an  abundant  body  of  literature.  One  of  the  most  interesting 
types  is  the  fabliau,  or  short  verse  tale,  almost  always  anonymous, 
middle  class  in  its  coloring,  comic  and  sometimes  very  coarse  in  its 
tone,  and  holding  the  mirror  of  ridicule  up  to  almost  every  aspect 
of  society.  There  are  some  two  hundred  fabliaux  extant,  ranging 
in  length  from  twenty  to  five  or  six  hundred  lines  and  produced  for 
the  most  part  between  the  latter  half  of  the  twelfth  century  and  the 
latter  half  of  the  fourteenth.  Boccaccio  drew  upon  the  fabliaux  for 
his  "Decameron" ;  and  English  parallels  will  be  found  in  Chaucer's 
tales  of  the  reeve,  the  shipman,  the  miller,  and  the  friar. 


208  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Rather  more  ambitious  than  the  fabliau,  but  springing  from  the 
same  humble  soil  and  written  in  much  the  same  vein,  is  the  strange 
poem  known  as  "The  Romance  of  Reynard."  It  is  a  cluster  or 
composite  of  animal  stories,  expanded  by  successive  accretions  to 
a  formidable  length,  with  the  fox  as  its  hero.  By  his  happy  com- 
bination of  guile,  shrewdness,  and  impudence  he  outwits  the  other 
animals  and  achieves  his  purpose.  There  is  a  sly  undertone  of  satire 
running  through  the  poem,  which  may  be  said  in  a  general  way  to 
.symbolize  common  sense  and  prudence  as  opposed  to  the  lofty 
heroics  of  the  poems  of  chivalry. 

We  are  still  in  the  realm  of  popular  and  democratic  appeal  when 
we  enter  the  field  of  medieval  French  drama.  As  in  most  of  the 
literatures  of  western  Europe,  the  drama  in  France  was  the  offspring 
of  the  Church.  Beginning  as  earlyas  the  eleventh  century  with  simple 
and  naVve  attempts  in  Latin  to  dramatize  portions  of  the  liturgy, 
the  stream  e.xpands  into  a  multitude  of  mysteries  (plays  on  Biblical 
themes)  and  miracle  plays  (legends  of  the  saints  and  of  the  Vir- 
gin). The  plays  of  later  date  sometimes  extended  to  twenty-five 
thousand  lines  or  more  and  required  several  days  for  their  presenta- 
tion. These  later  plays  are  all  in  the  common  speech.  The  high 
tide  in  the  production  of  mysteries  and  miracle  plays  was  the 
middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  closing  years  of  the  medieval 
period.  The  actors  in  the  religious  plays  were  at  first  members  of 
the  clergy,  but  as  these  plays  became  more  popular  they  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  craft  guilds.  Later,  companies  of  actors  were  or- 
ganized; such,  for  example,  as  the  Confraternity  of  the  Passion, 
which  presented  the  Passion  group  of  mysteries. 

The  secular  drama  of  France  was  somewhat  later  than  the  reli- 
gious type  in  getting  under  way,  but  when  once  started  had  a  de- 
velopment parallel  with  that  of  the  latter.  IMoralities,  satirizing 
under  the  veil  of  allegor\'  the  follies  and  defects  of  Church,  State, 
and  private  life,  were  numerous  and  sometimes  of  prodigious  length. 
Soties,  satirical  comedies  chiefly  on  political  subjects,  were  another 
type.  The  farce,  more  significant  than  any  of  these,  was  a  dramatic 
sketch,  usually  about  five  hundred  lines  in  length  and  containing 
from  two  to  five  characters.    It  dealt  generallj'  with  some  comic  in- 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  209 

cident  of  ordinary  life,  was  satirical  and  often  licentious  in  tone, 
and  on  the  whole  was  of  much  the  same  character  as  the  fabliau, 
from  which  in  many  cases  it  was  drawn.  We  mention  by  name  only 
one,  "Master  Pathelin,"  in  which  one  rogue  outwits  another, — the 
most  notable  of  all  medieval  French  farces,  written  probably  by 
Antoine  de  la  Salle.  The  medieval  drama,  secular  as  well  as  reli- 
gious, was  almost  wholly  of  unknown  authorship;  and  prior  to 
1548,  when  a  professional  Italian  troupe  visited  Paris,  all  the  acting 
was  by  amateur  performers. 

Medieval  French  prose  was  abundant  in  quantity,  but  we  can 
mention  only  one  or  two  of  the  best  examples.  The  exquisite  love 
story  of  "Aucassin  and  Xicolette"  has  been  happily  translated  into 
English  by  Andrew  Lang.  The  prose  narrative  is  occasionally  in- 
terrupted by  verse  interludes. 

Aucassin,  the  handsome  young  son  of  the  Count  of  Biaucaire,  will 
not  take  up  arms  against  his  father's  enemies  unless  he  is  allowed  to 
wed  Nicolette,  "his  sweet  lady  whom  he  loved  so  well."  But  she  is  a 
Saracen  slave  girl,  stolen  in  her  childhood  from  Carthage,  and  there- 
fore, says  the  Count,  it  may  not  be.  They  are  held  apart  from  each 
other,  but,  each  escaping  separately,  they  finally  meet  on  the  forest 
edge,  ride  to  the  seaside,  and  are  carried  by  ship  to  the  land  of  Torelore, 
where  grotesque  adventures  follow.  The  Saracens  capture  the  city,  the 
two  lovers  are  taken  on  separate  ships,  the  fleet  is  scattered  by  a 
tempest,  Aucassin  finally  reaches  Biaucaire,  and  Nicolette  is  carried  to 
Carthage  to  the  king,  her  father.  Recognition  takes  place,  and  plans 
are  made  for  giving  Nicolette  in  marriage  to  a  paynim  lord.  She  stains 
her  face,  disguises  herself  as  a  harper,  and  persuades  a  mariner  to 
carry  her  to  Biaucaire.  The  Count  and  his  wife  are  dead,  and  Aucas- 
sin is  lord  of  the  castle,  but  thinks  only  of  ''Nicolette  the  fair,  and  the 
dainty  face  of  her  he  had  loved  so  many  years."  Nicolette,  on  the 
castle  staircase,  sings  the  story  of  herself  and  Aucassin,  and  upon  his 
entreaties  undertakes  to  bring  his  sweet  lady  to  him.  Eight  days  later 
he  is  bidden  to  a  friend's  house  and  there  finds  Nicolette,  and  the  next 
day  they  are  wedded. 

"Sweet  the  song,  the  story  sweet; 
There  is  no  man  hearkens  it, 
No  man  living  'neath  the  sun, 
So  outwearied,  so  foredone. 


210  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Sick  and  woful,  worn  and  sad, 
But  is  healed,  but  is  glad, 
'Tis  so  sweet." ^ 

Perhaps  the  most  notable  of  the  medieval  chroniclers  was  Frois- 
sart,  whose  copious  volumes  are  colored  with  the  fading  light  of 
chivalry  and  whose  descriptions,  though  limited  strictly  to  the  aris- 
tocratic circles  of  society,  are  often  full  of  picturesque  charm  and 
dignity. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  medieval  period  in  French  literature  was 
a  very  productive  one — intense  and  colorful,  even  if  somewhat  ill 
organized.  Substance,  on  the  whole,  meant  more  than  form  to  these 
early  writers,  whose  emotional  impulse  often  involved  them  in  a 
tangled  maze  of  narrative  long  drawn  out.  But  the  heart  of  the 
matter  was  sound,  and  the  necessary  discipline  of  attention  to  form 
was  not  to  be  long  delayed. 

The  Renaissance  Period 

The  period  of  the  Renaissance  covered,  roughly  speaking,  the 
sixteenth  century.  The  significance  of  this  great  movement  in 
France,  as  in  other  western  European  countries,  was  its  emphasis 
upon  individualism  rather  than  the  dictatorship  of  institutions  such 
as  Church  and  State.  The  age  was  one  of  exploration — not  only  of 
distant  shores  and  seas  but  of  the  foundations  of  knowledge  and 
belief,  of  the  cultures  of  the  past,  of  the  heart  and  mind  of  man.  It 
contained,  on  the  one  hand,  the  assertion  of  personality,  and,  on  the 
other,  the  recognition  of  the  need  of  self-scrutiny,  self-discipline, 
self-restraint.  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  essentially  modern  em- 
phasis upon  the  scientific  spirit,  which  dares  all  things  except  to 
trifle  with  the  truth.  There  is  therefore  in  the  art  of  the  Renais- 
sance an  overflowing  of  life  into  new  channels,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  beginning  of  that  subjection  of  all  things  to  the  rule  of  reason, 
which,  in  the  two  centuries  following  the  sixteenth,  was  to  play  so 
supreme  a  part  in  the  literature  and  life  of  France. 

Francois  Villon  may  be  thought  of  as  one  who  has  fallen  into 
the  new  current  of  things  long  before  lesser  men  have  escaped  from 
^Translation  by  Andrew  Lang. 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  2ii 

the  old.  He  was  born  in  143 1,  was  a  scholar,  a  vagabond,  a  fugitive, 
a  poet  of  rare  power,  a  companion  of  thieves,  and  on  one  occasion,  at 
least,  barely  escaped  hanging.  He  feasted  one  day  and  starved  the 
next,  was  tenderly  devoted  to  his  aged  mother  and  bitter  against 
his  faithless  mistress  Katherine  de  Vaucelles,  Just  when  and  where 
he  finally  "shuffled  off  this  mortal  coil"  nobody  knows.  His  best 
work  is  in  the  form  of  the  ballade,  in  which  he  reveals  a  mastery 
such  as  no  other  poet  has  ever  shown.  Moreover,  the  simplicity  and 
directness  of  his  phrasing  and  the  sharpness  of  the  personal  element 
of  joy  and  pain,  ugly  reality  and  ideal  vision,  distinguish  him  as 
modern, — by  contrast,  for  example,  with  Charles  d'Orleans,  living 
in  his  pleasant  but  artificial  system  of  sentiments  and  language. 
Rossetti's  translation  of  his  "Ballade  des  Dames  du  Temps  Jadis" 
will  indicate  the  nature  of  the  ballade  and  will  also  give  something 
of  the  charm  of  Villon  as  a  poet : 

BALLADE  OF  DEAD  LADIES 

"Tell  me  now  in  what  hidden  way  is 

Lady  Flora  the  lovely  Roman  ? 
Where's  Hipparchia,  and  where  is  Thais, 

Neither  of  them  the  fairer  woman? 

Where  is  Echo,  beheld  of  no  man, 
Only  heard  on  river  and  mere, — 

She  whose  beauty  was  more  than  human?  .  .  . 
But  where  are  the  snows  of  yester-year? 

"Where's  HeloVse,  the  learned  nun, 

For  whose  sake  Abeillard,  I  ween, 
Lost  manhood  and  put  priesthood  on  ? 

(From  love  he  won  such  dule  and  teen.) 

And  where,  I  pray  you,  is  the  queen 
Who  willed  that  Buridan  should  steer 

Sewed  in  a  sack's  mouth  down  the  Seine?  .  .  . 
But  where  are  the  snows  of  yester-year  ? 

"White  Queen  Blanche,  like  a  queen  of  lilies, 
With  a  voice  like  any  mermaiden, — 
Bertha  Broadfoot,  Beatrice,  AHce, 
And  Ermengarde,  the  lady  of  Maine, — 


212  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

And  that  Rood  Joan  whom  Englishmen 
At  Rouen  doomed  and  burned  her  there, — 

Mother  of  God,  where  are  they  then?  .  .  . 
But  where  are  the  snows  of  yester-year  ? 

"Nay,  never  ask  this  week,  fair  lord. 

Where  they  are  gone,  nor  yet  this  year, 
Save  with  this  much  for  an  overword, — 
But  where  are  the  snows  of  yester-year?" 

Clement  Marot  (1497-1544)  is  second  only  to  Villon  and 
D'Orleans  in  effective  handling  of  the  ballade  and  other  popular 
verse  forms.  In  his  best  work  he  is  concrete  and  personal,  but  re- 
flects the  more  graceful,  tender,  and  elegant  sentiments  rather  than 
the  deeper  and  sterner  ones. 

The  mid-century  period,  so  far  as  poetry  is  concerned,  wSiS  oc- 
cupied chiefly  by  Ronsard  and  the  remarkable  literary  group  of 
which  he  was  the  center — the  group  known  as  the  Pleiade.  They 
were  a  brotherhood  of  seven  poets,  who  undertook,  through  a  studi- 
ous cultivation  of  classical  forms,  especially  of  the  Horatian  ode,  to 
impart  to  French  poetry  a  distinction  of  style  and  a  carefully 
wrought  line.  Their  work  was  largely  influential  in  establishing 
the  Alexandrine — the  twelve-syllable  iambic  line — in  its  com- 
manding place  as  the  vehicle  of  almost  all  later  French  poetry.  The 
most  significant  member  of  the  group  was  Pierre  de  Ronsard 
( 1 524-1 585).  He  was  called  by  his  admiring  friends  "the  prince  of 
poets,"  and  was  a  most  scrupulous  artist  in  verse.  He  produced  a 
great  mass  of  poetry,  not  all  of  equal  excellence,  but  revealing, 
especially  in  his  sonnets  and  other  lyrics,  a  haunting  melancholy  of 
tone,  a  deep  response  to  natural  beauty,  and  a  well-ordered  though 
not  artificial  style.  Many  of  his  poems  are  based  upon  the  impulse 
of  seizing  the  joy  of  life  before  it  flies — and  how  quickly  it  flies ! 
The  exquisite  sonnet  "Of  his  Lady's  Old  Age"  is  typical : 

"When  you  are  very  old,  at  evening 

You'll  sit  and  spin  beside  the  fire,  and  say, 
Humming  my  songs,  'Ah  well,  ah  well-a-day, 
When  I  was  young,  of  me  did  Ronsard  sing.' 
None  of  your  maidens  that  doth  hear  the  thing, 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  213 

Albeit  with  her  weary  task  foredone, 
But  wakens  at  my  name,  and  calls  you  one 
Blest,  to  be  held  in  long  remembering. 

"I  shall  be  low  beneath  the  earth,  and  laid 
On  sleep,  a  phantom  in  the  myrtle  shade. 

While  you  beside  the  fire,  a  grandam  gray, 
My  love,  your  pride,  remember  and  regret; 
Ah,  love  me,  love,  we  may  be  happy  yet, 

And  gather  roses  while  'tis  called  to-day."^ 

The  satires  of  Mathurin  Regnier  (i 573-1613)  bring  the  poetic 
voice  of  the  Renaissance  to  a  worthy  close.  They  were  the  best 
that  France  had  yet  produced.  There  is  in  Regnier's  work  a  rare 
fusion  of  insight  and  of  restraint  that  makes  him  a  social  critic  of 
unusual  soundness  and  a  typical  exponent  of  the  best  that  was  in 
the  French  Renaissance. 

The  prose  of  the  sixteenth  century  is  centered  in  the  two  out- 
standing figures  of  Rabelais  and  Montaigne.  Frangois  Rabelais, 
probably  on  the  whole  the  most  significant  name  of  the  French 
Renaissance,  was  born  at  Chinon  about  the  year  1495  and  died  in 
1553.  He  was  a  man  of  singularly  independent  mind  and  of  varied 
experience — monk,  priest,  scholar,  physician,  man  of  the  world. 
His  "Gargantua"  and  'Tantagruel"  are  huge,  misshapen  narra- 
tives— one  hesitates  to  call  them  fiction  in  any  strict  sense  of  the 
term — of  the  adventures,  activities,  and  opinions  of  the  two  giants, 
father  and  son,  who  give  the  titles  to  the  books.  The  modern  reader 
is  baffled  by  the  apparent  jumble  of  grotesqueness,  buffoonery,  ex- 
travagance, lofty  seriousness,  coarse  jocularity,  and  confusion  of 
allegory,  fiction,  and  reality  which  he  finds  in  trying  to  read  these 
books.  It  is  only  by  long  contact  with  Rabelais  that  one  penetrates 
through  this  incoherent  surface  medley  to  what  it  all  signifies — an 
immense,  almost  voracious  appetite  for  the  good  things  of  life, 
sensuous  as  well  as  spiritual,  and  a  wholesome  scorn  and  satire 
directed  at  mock  heroics  and  embalmed  traditions.  The  only  way 
to  take  life  seriously,  says  Rabelais,  is  to  take  it  gayly,  to  devour  it 
eagerly,  to  seize  upon  it  when  and  where  and  how  you  will. 

1  Translation  by  Andrew  Lang. 


214 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


LESHORRl 

BJLES  ET  ESPOV^ 
uiyitadWa  fetch  it  PiOucUce 
tiu  trcircndmcip>an{aqnic(, 
iRov  bee  tDipfoSce,  f^tdtu 
grar  gftmr  (5arqaufiiQ,(£d 
pcff  iiouMifff  mfnf.ptJr  mui. 
'  fire  afccfr^)6n6  ^fZtjficr. 

tl  Buqnt'ctc  ^  iTeirige  frm. 
cdfinwi/4)nr  maifire  Qc^an 
luncffiocteur  cn.t^co(ogic. 


Michel  de  Montaigne,  whose  work  fell  within  the  generation  fol- 
lowing Rabelais,  was  born  in  1533,  was  something  of  an  infant 
prodigy,  studied  law,  served  as  a  soldier,  was  mayor  of  Bordeaux, 

spent  his  last  twenty  years 
l^Mf(iqruft  .j^  retirement  and  literary 

work  varied  by  periods  of 
travel,  witnessed  with  a 
philosophic  eye  the  fading 
of  the  early  Renaissance 
dreams  of  an  ideal  society, 
and  died  in  1592.  Mon- 
taigne's work  is  chiefly  in 
the  form  of  essays,  a  form 
of  which  he  can  hardly  be 
called  the  originator,  but 
which  he  was  one  of  the 
first  to  employ  with  su- 
perior literary  effect.  Deal- 
ing with  a  wide  variety  of 
subject  matter,  IMontaigne 
has  a  flexible,  easy-going 
style,  comparatively  sim- 
ple in  structure  and  giving 
currency  to  much  of  what 
was  best  in  the  stylistic  re- 
forms of  the  Pleiade.  His 
essays  are  short  discussions 
of  the  various  aspects  of 
human  life  as  they  ap- 
pealed to  him.  They  are 
modern  in  the  sense  of 
being  thoughtful  but  not 
overserious  attempts  to  connect  the  experience  of  life  with  some  of 
the  general  truths  of  human  nature  and  of  history.  They  present 
also  the  typical  essay  qualities  of  digression  and  pleasant  mean- 
dering. Indeed,  IMontaigne  carries  the  informal  tendency  almost  to 


M  D.XXXIJI* 

maifor)  te  ftranco^e  ^ufic, 
JDcrnournnf  bcuciut  tio/tre 
iDomc  be  iZcnfou 


TITLE-PAGE  OF  ORIGINAL  EDITION  OF 
RABELAIS'S    "pANTAGRUEl" 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  215 

excess,  presenting  very  often  an  almost  total  lack  of  connection  be- 
tween subject  matter  and  title.  He  is  frank  and  at  times  almost 
egotistical  in  tone,  and  is  colored  everywhere  by  a  subtle  skepticism 
and  irony ;  but  beneath  his  surface  pleasantry  he  gives  utterance  to 
a  wisdom  that  is  deep  and  sound.  He  exerted  a  considerable  influ- 
ence on  the  essayists  of  the  Classical  period  in  England,  notably 
Addison  and  Steele.  Rabelais  and  Montaigne  both  stand  for  a  good- 
natured  acceptance  of  life,  but  with  Rabelais  it  is  an  appetite  and 
with  Montaigne  an  amused  and  skeptical  tolerance.  The  "  Do  what 
you  will"  of  Rabelais  becomes  the  "What  do  I  Know  ?"  of  Mon- 
taigne. Let  us  take  the  haphazard  jumble  we  call  life  with  cheer- 
ful resignation,  says  Montaigne,  not  be  overcredulous  about  the 
good  time  coming,  and  not  take  ourselves  too  seriously.  Here  is  a 
typical  sentiment:  "He  who  has  neither  the  courage  to  die,  nor 
the  heart  to  live,  who  will  neither  resist  nor  fly,  what  should  one 
do  with  him?" 

Among  the  other  prose  writers  of  the  Renaissance  one  of  the 
most  notable  was  Marguerite  d'Angouleme,  queen  of  Navarre.  Her 
poems  are  not  without  distinction.  She  is  best  known, however, as  the 
author — in  part  at  least — of  the  "  Heptameron,"  a  series  of  seventy- 
two  tales  set  in  a  framework  in  imitation  of  Boccaccio  but  repre- 
senting a  somewhat  higher  level  of  life  and  manners.  The  Abbe  de 
Brantome  was  an  interesting  retailer  of  anecdote,  with  a  rather 
marked  preference  for  the  scandalous,  but  presenting  withal  a  very 
vivid  picture  of  the  society  of  his  times. 

From  the  strictly  literary  point  of  view  the  contribution  of  the 
Renaissance  period  in  France  was  chiefly  along  the  line  of  the  de- 
velopment of  style  and  of  type.  The  looseness  and  vagueness  that 
had  characterized  much  of  the  medieval  writing  gave  way  to  a  con- 
siderable exactness  of  vocabulary,  the  Alexandrine  was  carried  well 
on  its  victorious  way,  the  essay  came  into  its  own,  and  lyric  forms 
of  great  beauty  were  evolved.  More  important  than  all  this,  how- 
ever, was  the  peculiarly  Renaissance  temper  of  independence,  of 
scrutiny,  of  weighing  and  balancing,  and  of  emphasis  on  individual 
judgment  rather  than  authority. 


2l6 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


The  Great  Age 

With  the  seventeenth  century  we  come  to  what  is  commonly 
known  as  Ic  grand  sitcle,  "the  great  age,"  of  French  Uterature.  It 
was  the  period  of  the  grand  monarque,  Louis  XIV,  and  of  his 

ministers  Mazarin  and  Col- 
bert; of  the  Thirty  Years' 
War ;  of  the  absolutism  that 
made  France  the  most  power- 
ful of  the  European  states, 
flowering  in  the  splendor  of 
Versailles  and  the  Louvre  and 
ripening  after  another  hun- 
dred years  in  the  red  flame 
and  the  sharp  steel  of  the 
Revolution.  The  pendulum 
of  literary  history  swings  in 
this  age  from  the  poetry  and 
independence  of  the  Renais- 
sance to  the  prose  and  con- 
formity of  a  triumphant 
Classicism. 

The  Classical  period  in 
French  literature  was  the 
product  of  many  and  various 
forces,  but  it  may  be  said  to 
have  received  its  immediate  impress  from  the  hands  of  ISIalherbe 
and  Boileau.  Their  work  is  for  the  most  part  in  verse  form,  though 
they  can  hardly,  in  any  true  sense,  be  called  poets.  They  discuss 
and  exemplify  in  their  work  the  critical  theories  for  which  they 
stood.  What  these  were,  the  reader  of  English  literature  can  readily 
gather  from  Pope's  ''Essay  on  Criticism."  The  ideals  proclaimed 
are  those  of  conformity,  reason,  moderation,  and  good  breeding. 
The  test  of  excellence  is  the  degree  in  which  a  piece  of  literature 
conforms  to  certain  authoritative  models — chiefly  the  Latin  poets 
of  the  Augustan  Age.  Doubtless  the  restlessness  of  the  Renaissance 


JEAN  DE  LA  FONTAINE 


FRENCH  LITERATURE 


217 


needed  the  stabilizing  discipline  of  the  Classical  regimen.  What 
happened  was  that  under  its  spell  lyric  poetry,  on  the  one  hand, 
died  of  anaemia,  and  tragedy,  on  the  other,  rose  to  the  most  im- 
pressive dignity  that  it  has  ever  known  in  France. 

The  writer  who  comes  nearest  to  being  a  poet  in  this  century  is 
La  Fontaine,  author  of  a  series  of  "Contes,"  or  short  tales,  drawn 
largely  from  the  fab- 
liaux and  from  Boc- 
caccio, and  of  the 
"Fables,"  based  on 
iEsop  and  his  imita- 
tors. He  is  at  his  best 
in  the  latter — grace- 
ful, elegant,  subtly  iron- 
ical, revealing  the  keen 
eye,  the  line  candor, 
and  the  sparkling  nar- 
rative style  of  one  who 
was  almost  of  the  elect 
He  may  be  said  to  have 
given  its  typical  verse 
form  to  the  animal 
story  and  to  have  re- 
cast the  uncouth  med- 
ieval Reynard  into  a 
parlor  friend. 

The  greatness  of  the 
grand  siecle  is  centered 
in   the  splendid   triad 

consisting  of  Comeille,  Racine,  and  Molicre.  Based  as  they  were 
on  the  regularity  and  severity  of  the  Senecan  model,  the  tragedies 
of  Corneille  and  Racine  adapted  themselves  readily  to  the  rules 
and  regulations  prescribed  by  the  Classical  school. 

Pierre  Corneille  was  born  in  1606  and  died  in  1684.  His  life  was 
long,  but  so  little  eventful  that  the  publication  dates  of  his  prin- 
cipal plays  form  its  chronicle.    Corneille  wrote  comedy  of  a  very 


PIERRE   CORNEILLE 


2l8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

creditable  sort,  as  is  shown  in  "La  Veuve"  ("The  Widow")  and 
"Le  Menteur"  ("The  Liar"),  but  his  greatness  lies  in  the  field 
of  tragedy.  Even  in  his  formative  period  he  produced  a  work — the 
"Medea" — which  was  the  greatest  French  tragedy  up  to  its  time. 
We  can  notice  in  rapid  review  only  a  few  of  his  more  important 
plays.  One  of  the  most  typical  is  "Polyeucte,"  a  splendid  present- 
ment of  the  theme  of  Christian  martyrdom. 

It  is  the  story  of  a  young  Roman  of  noble  birth,  who  soon  after  his 
marriage  is  converted  to  the  Christian  faith.  His  young  wife  Pauline 
urges  him  without  avail  to  save  his  life  by  renouncing  his  new  faith.  His 
death  as  a  martyr  has  the  effect  of  converting  Pauline  and  her  father 
the  governor,  who  had  condemned  Polyeucte  to  death.  It  is  one  of  the 
finest  of  Corneille's  plays  and  one  of  those  most  fully  representative  of 
his  peculiar  genius  as  a  dramatist. 

-"The  Cid"  is  based  on  the  Spanish  chronicle  play  of  Castro,  but  is 
transformed  into  a  tragedy  of  exalted  dignity.  "Horace"  is  on  the 
theme  of  patriotism  and  is  one  of  the  best  examples  of  Corneille's 
method  as  a  dramatist.  In  "Cinna"  the  author  comes  forward  as 
the  champion  of  monarchy.  "Rodogune"  is  a  semi-romantic  play 
of  great  intensity  and  dramatic  force.  "Andromeda"  is  the  best 
example  of  Corneille's  genius  in  the  field  of  spectacular  tragedy. 
"(Edipus"  and  "La  Toison  d'Or"  ("The  Fleece  of  Gold")  repre- 
sent his  period  of  decline,  but  are  nevertheless  characterized  by 
passages  of  lofty  genius  and  poetic  power.  Corneille's  tragedies 
possess  an  austere  dignity  of  theme  and  treatment,  a  kind  of  sub- 
limity in  dramatic  characterization,  a  superb  handling  of  the  Alex- 
andrine, and  a  loyal  though  not  unreasoning  acceptance  of  the 
Classical  unities  of  structure.  In  spite  of  a  certain  rhetorical  qual- 
ity of  style,  and  monotony  and  regularity  of  presentation,  he  is,  as 
Mr.  Saintsbury  says,  "the  greatest  tragic  dramatist  of  France  on 
the  classical  model." 

Jean  Racine  was  a  younger  contemporary  of  Comeille.  He  was 
bom  in  1639  and  died  in  1699.  He  had  the  advantages  of  a  good 
education  and  of  the  patronage  of  the  king.  He  was  greater  as  a 
dramatist  than  as  a  man,  being  of  a  somewhat  jealous  and  unami- 
able  temper,  as  shown  by  various  elements  of  ill  nature  in  his  ri- 


FRENXH  LITERATURE  219 

valry  with  Corneille  and  his  ingratitude  for  kindness  shown  him  by 
MoHere.  His  first  important  play,  "Andromaque,"  was  drawn  al- 
most directly  from  Euripides.  Says  Professor  Dovvden,  "Madame 
de  Sevigne  was  a  devoted  admirer  of  the  great  Corneille,  but  when 
she  witnessed  his  young  rival's  'Andromaque/  she  yielded  to  its 
pathos  six  reluctant  tears."  This  play  marks  the  passage  of  French 
tragedy  from  the  oratorical  to  the  more  fundamentally  poetic 
tone  which  it  afterward  maintained.  " Britannicus,"  "Berenice," 
"Bajazet,"  and  "Mithridates"  are  from  historical  and  semi- 
historical  sources.  In  his  searching  tragedies  "Iphigenia"  and 
"Phaedra"  we  find  Racine  reverting  again  to  Euripides.  The  latter 
is  by  far  the  greatest  of  his  plays,  almost  faultless  in  its  expression 
and  superb  in  the  tragic  intensity  of  its  central  character. 

Phaedra  is  the  youthful  wife  whom  Theseus  has  taken  in  his  declining 
age.  She  finds  herself  overcome  by  a  resistless  passion  for  Hippolytus, 
his  son  by  a  former  wife.  He,  however,  is  a  devotee  of  the  goddess 
Diana  and  rejects  the  love  of  Phaedra.  Jealousy  moves  her  to  lay  false 
charges  against  Hippolytus.  Theseus  calls  down  upon  him  the  vengeance 
of  the  gods,  and  his  death  follows.  Remorse  seizes  Phaedra  ;  she  confesses, 
and  takes  her  own  life.  Racine  is  faithful  to  his  sources  so  far  as  narrative 
is  concerned,  but  gives  the  theme  a  modern  emphasis  by  injecting  into  it 
the  Christian  ideas  of  sin,  human  weakness,  and  retributive  remorse. 

After  an  interval  of  eleven  years  Racine  produced  his  two  Biblical 
tragedies,  "Esther"  and  "Athaliah,"  the  latter  a  fine  combination 
of  beauty  and  dignity.  Racine  has  less  of  original  power  than  Cor- 
neille, but  greater  ease  and  a  nearer  approach  to  the  human  pas- 
sions, making  a  much  freer  use  of  the  love  intrigue  than  does 
Corneille.  Racine's  idea  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  that  of  holding 
the  mirror  up  to  nature,  but  rather  of  producing  tragedies  upon 
the  Classical  model,  which  he  did  supremely  well.  His  genius  lies 
chiefly  in  his  creations  of  feminine  character.  In  almost  all  his 
plays  the  women  are  much  more  important  than  the  men,  and  it  is 
through  them  that  Racine  achieves  his  high  distinction  as  spokes- 
man of  the  human  emotions.^ 

1  Perhaps  the  nearest  parallel  in  English  to  the  French  classical  tragedy  is 
Addison's  "  Cato." 


220 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


Great  as  arc  the  names  of  Corneille  and  Racine  in  the  field  of 
French  drama,  that  of  Jean  Baptiste  Poquelin,  called  Moliere,  is 
greater  still.  And  his  greatness  is  all  the  more  remarkable  because 
his  plays  are  comedies,  coming  from  the  rather  ignoble  pedigree  of 
farce  and  claptrap.  Moliere  was  born  in  Paris  in  1622.  He  re- 
ceived a  good  education  at 


the  famous  Jesuit  college 
of  Clermont,  studied  law, 
and  is  said  to  have  been 
called  to  the  bar.  His  first 
attempt  at  organizing  a 
theatrical  company  was  a 
failure.  He  persisted,  how- 
ever, in  his  ambition  and 
for  thirteen  years  toured 
the  provinces  with  a  com- 
pany the  most  notable 
member  of  which  was 
Madeleine  Bejart,  who  as- 
sumed the  leading  femi- 
nine role  in  most  of  his 
plays.  Upon  his  return  to 
Paris  in  1658  he  was 
honored  with  the  patronage  of  the  king,  whom  for  a  while  he  served 
as  valet  de  chambre.  His  marriage  to  Armande  Bejart,  sister  of  his 
leading  actress,  was  not  a  happy  one.  He  wrote  over  thirty-five 
plays, — some  in  verse  and  some  in  prose, — followed  his  profession 
as  an  actor  all  through  his  life,  and  died  in  1673,  during  a  per- 
formance of  "Le  Malade  Imaginaire,"  almost  literally  with  a  part 
upon  his  lips. 

We  find  back  of  the  laughter  of  Moliere's  comedy  a  penetrat- 
ing vision  of  the  realities  of  life  and  a  wisdom  that  is  deep  and 
sometimes  almost  sad.  With  "Les  Precieuses  Ridicules,"  a  one-act 
satire  on  the  women  of  the  literary  coteries  of  his  time,  brilliant  in 
its  dialogue  and  searching  in  its  interpretation,  ISIoliere  came  for 
the  first  time  in  a  conspicuous  way  before  the  public.   This  was  fol- 


MOLIERE 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  22 1 

lowed  shortly  by  the  two  sparkling  comedies  "L'ficole  des  Maris" 
C'The  School  for  Husbands")  and  "L'Ecole  des  Femmes"  ("The 
School  for  Wives").  The  climax  of  Moliere's  dramatic  work  is 
marked  by  "The  Misanthrope,"  a  satire  of  great  depth  and  richness 
of  conception,  and  "Tartuffe,"  an  incisive  arraignment  of  religious 
hypocrisy,  regarded  by  many  as  Moliere's  greatest  play. 

Orgon  has  every  confidence  in  his  friend  Tartuffe,  who  has  all  the 
external  marks  of  goodness,  but  who  is  in  reality  a  most  consummate 
hypocrite.  Under  the  guise  of  friendship  Tartuffe  attempts  to  betray 
the  honor  of  Elmire,  the  wife  of  Orgon,  who  risks  her  reputation  by 
leading  him  on  to  a  humiliating  exposure.  Orgon,  though  amazed  at  his 
friend's  bad  faith,  suffers  himself  to  be  still  further  duped  into  loss  of 
his  property  and  final  arrest  on  a  false  charge  of  treason — all  at  the 
hands  of  the  respectable  Tartuffe.  At  length,  upon  the  intervention  of 
the  king,  Tartuffe  is  led  away  to  serve  a  well-merited  term  in  prison. 
The  satire  in  this  play  was  so  keen  as  to  arouse  the  bitter  resentment 
of  the  Church  and  the  court,  so  that  for  a  while  Moliere's  theater  was 
closed  and  the  royal  favor  withdrawn. 

Within  the  seven  years  of  life  left  to  him  Moliere  produced  "Le 
Medecin  malgre  Lui"  ("The  Physician  in  Spite  of  Himself"),  a 
farce  comedy  based  on  an  old  fabliau;  "George  Dandin,"  one  of 
the  best  of  his  pictures  of  marital  complication  ;  "L'Avare"  ("The 
Miser"),  in  which  bourgeois  and  provincial  life  are  held  up  to 
ridicule;  "Le  Bourgeois  Gentilhomme"  ("The  Tradesman  turned 
Gentleman"),  a  bold  and  brilliant  satire  on  the  middle-class  social 
climber;  *'Les  Femmes  Savantes"  ("The  Learned  Ladies")  ;  "Le 
Malade  Imaginaire"  ("The  Imaginary  Invalid")  ;  and  a  con- 
siderable number  of  lesser  plays. 

Moliere  raised  French  comedy  from  the  farce  and  burlesque  level 
to  the  refined  and  highly  polished  form  which  later  generations 
have  come  to  expect  of  it.  He  made  it  also  the  vehicle  of  social  re-' 
form  through  the  not  always  gentle  art  of  ridicule.  As  a  poet  he  is 
inferior  to  Corneille  and  Racine,  but  rises  above  them  in  his  appeal 
to  the  realities  of  life  and  conduct.  Indeed,  if  we  leave  out  of  ac- 
count the  poetic  element,  we  shall  not  go  far  wrong  in  naming 
Moliere  as  the  greatest  of  all  writers  of  comedy. 


223  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Other  types  of  literature.  French  fiction  in  the  seventeenth 
century  was  for  the  most  part  decidedly  below  the  level  of  drama. 
The  "Comic  Romance,"  of  Paul  Scarron,  is,  however,  an  excellent 
specimen  of  picaresque  romance,  based  on  the  rogue's  novel  of 
Spain.  And  "The  Princess  of  Cleves,"  of  Madame  de  la  Fayette, 
though  of  small  bulk,  was  of  great  significance  as  a  sympathetic 
study  of  character  and  emotion,  the  first  notable  achievement  of  its 
kind  in  France. 

In  the  field  of  nonfictional  prose  we  must  note  three  great 
seventeenth-century  writers.  Blaise  Pascal  is  noted  chiefly  for  his 
"Pensees"  ("Thoughts"),  reflections  on  the  conflict  between  doubt 
and  faith — simple,  confident,  expressed  with  a  grave  sweetness 
that  has  proved  comforting  to  many  a  troubled  heart.  The  Duke 
de  la  Rochefoucauld  is  best  known  by  his  "Maxims,"  a  volume  of 
about  six  hundred  short  paragraphs  or  sentences  on  the  ethical 
aspects  of  life  as  the  writer  saw  it — models  of  clear  and  direct  writ- 
ing. Dowden  says  that  the  "Maxims"  read  "like  a  collection  of 
medals  struck  in  honor  of  the  conquests  of  cynicism."  Jean  de  la 
Bruyere,  in  his  "Characters,"  looks  with  indulgent  tolerance  on 
the  foibles  of  life  and  satirizes  them  in  an  easy  and  graceful  style 
which  the  English  satirists — Addison  and  his  group — were  glad  to 
imitate. 

A  word  on  the  remarkable  institution  known  as  the  salon  will  not 
be  out  of  place.  It  was  a  little  court  presided  over  by  a  woman  of 
distinction,  and  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  a  refined  taste  and  ap- 
preciation, to  brilliant  conversation,  to  the  lionizing  of  poets  and 
playwrights,  to  literary  coquetry,  and  to  elegance  of  manners.  At 
its  best  the  salon  served  to  encourage  literary  production  and  the 
cultivation  of  clearness  and  precision  of  style.  But  it  often  fell  into 
mere  triviality  and  into  the  ridiculous  overrefinement  of  wire-drawn 
verbiage  known  as  "preciosity,"  so  keenly  satirized  by  Moliere. 
The  salon  continued  to  be  a  feature  of  literary  life  in  France 
throughout  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  down  to  the 
very  days  of  the  Reign  of  Terror. 

The  real  greatness  of  the  grand  sitcle  is  centered  in  a  single  name 
— that  of  Moliere.    In  a  less  significant  way  it  may  be  said  that  the 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  223 

age  was  great  in  the  sense  of  being  an  age  of  standards  and  of  con- 
formity to  them.  Such  a  regime  has  its  dangers  as  well  as  its  great- 
ness ;  we  have  seen  that  lyric  poetry  could  not  survive  the  severity 
of  its  requirements,  and  that  the  garment  of  artificiality  was  fitted 
to  almost  everything  else  that  it  produced.  Yet  the  insistent  de- 
mand for  conscientious  workmanship  throughout  this  period  gave 
to  French  literature  some  of  its  most  characteristic  qualities — pre- 
cision, refinement  of  phrase,  alertness,  elegance,  and,  above  all, 
transparent  clearness ;  and  these  are  no  small  gains  in  the  develop- 
ment of  a  national  literature. 


The  Eighteenth  Century 

The  eighteenth  century  is  a  curiously  inconsistent  age.  It  pre- 
sents, on  the  one  hand,  a  revival  of  the  scientific  spirit  of  the 
Renaissance,  which  boldly  questioned  the  right  to  existence  of  the 
social  and  political  institutions  of  the  time,  and,  on  the  other,  an 
even  greater  conformity  than  that  of  the  seventeenth  century  to 
the  rigid  system  of  Malherbe  and  Boileau  in  the  field  of  literature. 

Prose  fared  somewhat  better  tlian  poetry  in  this  age.  Rene 
Lesage  is  best  known  for  his  rogue's  novel  of  ''Gil  Bias,"  the 
hero  of  which  is  one  of  the  great  characters  of  world  fiction,  broadly 
human  in  his  appeal,  affording  his  creator  a  fine  vantage  ground  for 
swift  and  colorful  narrative,  and  exerting  a  strong  influence  on  the 
English  novelists  Fielding  and  Smollett. 

The  hero  of  this  story  is  a  young  Spanish  orphan,  who  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  sets  out  on  a  mule  and  with  only  a  few  ducats  in  his  pocket, 
at  the  bidding  of  his  uncle,  for  the  University  of  Salamanca,  which  he 
never  reaches,  owing  to  more  important  calls  upon  his  time.  He  be- 
comes for  a  while  apprentice  to  Dr.  Sangrado ;  he  enters  the  service 
of  the  archbishop  of  Granada ;  he  is  taken  into  the  household  of  a  lady 
of  fashion;  he  consorts  with  thieves,  courtiers,  political  wire-pullers, 
strolling  actors — in  short  his  school  is  the  world,  his  education  proves 
to  be  a  wide  one,  and  his  lessons  are  well  learned. 

The  Abbe  Prevost  produced  in  "Manon  Lescaut"  a  study  in  fem- 
inine psychology  so  profoundly  sympathetic,  so  true  and  simple  and 


224  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

direct,  as  to  deserve  the  name  of  masterpiece.  Beaumarchais,  on 
the  whole  perhaps  the  greatest  dramatist  of  the  century,  in  his 
brilliant  comedies  "The  Barber  of  Seville,"  "The  Marriage  of 
Figaro,"  and  "La  Mere  Coupable"  ("The  Guilty  Mother")  has 
presented  a  running  comment  of  keen  irony  upon  the  times  and 
upon  the  outlook  for  the  future. 

Probably  the  most  significant  phenomenon  in  French  literature 
in  the  eighteenth  century  was  what  is  known  as  the  Philosophe 
movement.  The  age  was  marked  by  a  tone  of  general  skepticism 
and  rigid  inquiry  into  the  bases  of  government,  social  institutions, 
moral  principles,  canons  of  art,  and,  indeed,  practically  every  man- 
ifestation of  society.  This  was  the  Philosophism  of  the  new  age, — 
the  so-called  "Illumination"  or  "Enlightenment."  Its  tendency 
was  to  deism  in  religion  and  to  materialism  in  philosophy.  Jleresy 
became  the  fashionable  attitude,  tempered  always,  however,  with 
enough  conformity  to  be  made  comfortable.  From  the  mid-century 
on,  the  subject  matter  of  literature  was  converted  largely  into  a 
medium  for  the  propaganda  of  the  Philosophe  movement. 

The  two  great  forerunners  of  this  movement  were  Voltaire  and 
Montesquieu.  Frangois  Marie  Arouet,  who  assumed  the  name  of 
Voltaire,  was  born  in  1694  and  died  in  1778.  His  life  covered  thus 
more  than  three  quarters  of  the  entire  century.  He  received  his 
education  at  the  hands  of  the  Jesuits,  whom  in  his  later  years  he 
was  to  attack  so  bitterly.  He  was  twice  imprisoned  in  the  Bastille 
on  account  of  publications  which  the  Regency  found  unpalatable. 
He  lived  for  a  while  in  England,  was  the  friend  and  companion,  at 
the  Prussian  court,  of  Frederick  the  Great,  from  whom  he  after- 
ward became  estranged,  and  passed  his  closing  years  on  his  large 
estate  at  Ferney,  near  the  Swiss  border. 

Voltaire  was  regarded  as  the  greatest  poet  of  his  period — a  fact 
which  speaks  eloquently  of  the  utter  barrenness  of  the  poetic  feel- 
ing in  those  times.  His  epic  poems  "The  Henriade,"  in  honor  of 
Henry  IV.  and  "  Pucelle,"  a  contemptible  attack  on  Joan  of  Arc,  to- 
gether with  his  numerous  shorter  poems,  are  polished  and  brilliant, 
but  cold  and  hard  and  rigidly  obedient  to  the  rules  of  the  Classi- 
cal school.    His  tragedies — "Zaire,"  "La  INIort  de  Cesar"  ("The 


FRENCH  LITERATURE 


225 


Death  of  Csesar"),  ''Tancred,"  and  the  rest — show  a  high  degree 
of  cleverness  and  literary  craftsmanship,  but  are  as  lifeless  as  his 
poems.  He  wrote  fiction  also — satirical  short  tales  for  the  most 
part,  the  best  example  being  "Candide." 

"Candida"  is  one  of  a  group  of  stories  which  Voltaire  called  "Philo- 
sophic Tales,"  the  events  being  a  mere  scaffold  on  which  to  build  an 


attack  upon  the  shallow  optimism  of 
and  his  tutor,  Pangloss,  set  out  in 
search  of  a  dearly  loved  cousin. 
They  are  confronted  by  a  world 
very  much  out  of  joint — the  hor- 
rors of  the  Lisbon  earthquake, 
famine,  plague,  human  greed  and 
guile,  injustice,  and  a  thousand 
other  evils.  The  cousin  when  found 
proves  to  be  a  sorry  specimen. 
Candide  retreats  to  the  simple  life 
of  the  country,  plants  a  garden, 
abjures  philosophy,  turns  a  deaf  ear 
to  Pangloss's  insistence  upon  the 
theory  of  "the  best  of  all  possible 
worlds,"  and  sums  up  the  whole 
duty  of  man  in  the  famous  phrase 
*'We  must  stick  to  our  hoeing." 


'Whatever  is,  is  right."    Candide 


VOLTAIRE 


From  a  statue  bv  Houdon 


Voltaire  embodies,  perhaps  more  than  any  other  writer,  the  form 
and  spirit  of  the  eighteenth  century — its  polish,  elegance,  correct- 
ness, good  form,  cleverness,  irony ;  _rtsintellectual  shajlowiness, 
satirical  skepticism,  irrever_ence,  and  comparative  lack  of  imag- 
inative Jnsight.  The  English  poet  Alexander  Pope  presents  a  very 
fair  reflection  of  the  spirit,  tone,  and  style  of  Voltaire.  To  Vol- 
taire's credit  it  must  be  said  that  he  was  a  consistent  apologist 
for  reason  and  an  enemy  of  all  dogma  that  tended  to  ensla\e  the 
mind,  "ficrasez  I'infame,"  said  he, — "Down  with  the  infamous 
thing," — and  to  him  traditional  theology,  ecclesiasticism,  and  in- 
tolerance were  the  most  infamous  of  all  things.  He  wrote  to  a 
friend,  *'I  wholly  disapprove  of  your  ideas,  but  will  defend  with  my 
life  your  right  to  give  expression  to  them." 


226  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Charles,  Baron  de  Montesquieu,  was  born  near  Bordeaux  in 
1689  and  died  in  1755.  He  is  a  much  more  attractive  personaUty 
than  Voltaire.  He  has  none  of  Voltaire's  theatrical  quality,  but 
much  of  Montaigne's  sanity  and  thoughtfulness.  His  "Lettres  Per- 
sanes"  ("Persian  Letters")  are  light  but  keen  bits  of  satire  on  al- 
most all  the  national  shortcomings.  It  is,  however,  as  the  author  of 
that  remarkable  work  "L'Esprit  des  Lois"  ("The  Spirit  of  the 
Laws")  that  Montesquieu  is  chiefly  famous.  He  thinks  of  law  as  a 
natural  outgrowth  of  physical,  especially  climatic,  conditions,  of 
customs  and  social  forces,  and  of  the  general  connection  of  historic 
movement.  His  analysis  of  the  English  form  of  government,  which 
he  greatly  admired,  but  which,  like  the  majority  of  even  the  nota- 
ble Englishmen  of  his  time,  he  did  not  fully  understand,  had  a 
considerable  influence  upon  the  founders  of  the  United  States 
government. 

The  Philosophe  movement  proper  centers  chiefly  in  the  group 
known  as  the  Encyclopedists.  The  moving  spirit  and  master  work- 
man was  Diderot.  Under  his  wise  and  skillful  and  patient  guidance 
the  twenty -year  task  of  creating  the  "Encyclopedia"  was  accom- 
plished. It  is  a  vast  compendium  of  the  science,  politics,  economics, 
industry,  technology,  and  art  of  the  age.  It  is  colored  throughout 
by  the  rationalist  philosophy  of  the  times,  but  in  spite  of  the  seri- 
ous defects  of  that  system  was  an  achievement  of  great  value  and  a 
notable  contribution  to  the  development  of  modern  thought.  Some 
of  the  best  work  of  Diderot  is  included  in  the  "Encyclopedia,"  but 
he  wrote  widely  in  other  fields.  His  work  is  characterized  by  a 
thoroughgoing  sincerity  and  devotion  to  truth  as  he  conceived  it 
and  by  an  easy  and  spontaneous  style.  His  most  conscientious 
helper  on  the  "Encyclopedia"  was  D'Alembert,  who  produced  the 
notable  "Preliminary  Discourse"  and  a  number  of  valuable  articles, 
and  who  was  on  the  whole  the  most  thoroughly  intellectual  of  all 
the  Philosophe  writers. 

The  tremendous  upheaval  of  the  Revolution,  the  most  significant 
social  readjustment  of  modern  times,  while  a  product  in  some  slight 
degree  of  the  literature  preceding  it,  and  exerting  a  profound  influ- 
ence upon  that  which  followed,  did  not  in  itself  and  at  the  time  give 


FRENCH  LITERATURE 


227 


rise  to  any  very  notable  literary  work.  We  may  mention  the  specu- 
lative writings  of  Saint-Simon  and  Proudhon,  Rouget  de  Lisle's 
superb  "Marseillaise," — the  most  stirring  of  all  national  songs, — 
and  the  work  of  the  revolutionary  orators,  especially  Mirabeau, 
Vergniaud,  and  Danton,  whose  eloquence  often  rises  to  lofty  and 
splendid  heights. 

We  have  now  to  consider  the  work  of  a  remarkable  group  of  writ- 
ers who,  with  the  exception  of  Rousseau,  lived  through  the  Revolu- 
tion, whose  work  falls  partly  be- 
fore and  partly  after  it,  and  who 
are  commonly  classified  as  novel- 
ists, although  the  fictional  element 
is  largely  obscured  by  propaganda 
of  one  sort  or  another.  These 
writers  are  the  forerunners  of  the 
great  Romantic  movement.  The 
most  remarkable  of  them  is  Jean 
Jacques  Rousseau.  He  was  born 
at  Geneva  in  1712,  was  left  early 
without  a  mother,  and  received 
only  an  irregular  schooling.  His 
life  was  hardly  respectable,  as 
the  eighteenth  century  understood 
that  term.  It  was  full  of  changes 
and  was  more  or  less  that  of  a  vagabond.  Law  student,  engraver, 
footman,  musician,  tutor,  he  moved  from  place  to  place.  He  was 
the  protege  of  one  patron  after  another — Mademoiselle  de  Warens, 
Mademoiselle  d'Epinay,  the  duke  of  Luxemburg,  David  Hume, 
with  whom  he  spent  some  time  in  England,  and  several  others.  He 
quarreled  with  nearly  all  his  patrons  and  friends,  including  Dide- 
rot. He  died  under  somewhat  of  a  cloud  of  mystery  in  1778, 
at  a  home  in  Ermenonville  which  had  been  provided  for  him  by 
M.  de  Girardin. 

It  is,  indeed,  a  strange  thing  that  in  this  man,  almost  the  exact 
contemporary  of  Voltaire,  we  should  find  the  germ  of  a  revolt  that 
was  to  obliterate  the  whole  system  of  authority  for  which  Voltaire 


JEAN    JACQUES    ROUSSEAU 


228  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

stood  in  the  field  of  literature.  His  volume  entitled  ''Confessions" 
is  sometimes  called  a  novel,  and,  while  purporting  to  be  frankly 
autobiographical,  doubtless  contains  a  considerable  element  of  fic- 
tion. Professor  Dowden  remarks  of  it,  "Rousseau  writes  with  all 
the  sincerity  of  one  who  is  capable  of  boundless  self-deception." 

The  book  was  written  under  the  stress  of  much  anxiety  and  many 
shifts  of  fortune,  between  1765  and  1770.  It  purports  to  be  a  complete 
account  of  Rousseau's  life  from  his  childhood  on.  The  love  affairs  of 
the  author  are  quite  unreservedly  set  forth.  His  own  shortcomings  and 
those  of  his  intimate  friends  are  frankly  laid  bare.  And  in  the  later 
portions  we  find  abundant  references  to  supposed  enemies  and  false 
friends.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  draw  the  line  between  fact  and  fic- 
tion in  this  strange  book.  Better  than  the  events  or  supposed  events  of 
the  narrative  are  Rousseau's  splendid  descriptions  of  natural  scenery 
and  his  charming  bits  of  rural  and  peasant  atmosphere.  The  following 
typical  passage  of  description  will  illustrate : 

"I  remember  passing  one  delicious  night  outside  the  town,  in  a  road 
which  ran  by  the  side  of  either  the  Rhone  or  the  Saone,  I  forget  which  of 
the  two.  Gardens  raised  on  a  terrace  bordered  the  other  side  of  the  road. 
It  had  been  very  hot  all  day,  and  the  evening  was  delightful;  the  dew  mois- 
tened the  parched  grass,  the  night  was  profoundly  still,  the  air  fresh  without 
being  cold;  the  sun  in  going  down  had  left  red  vapors  in  the  heaven,  and 
they  turned  the  water  to  rose  color ;  the  trees  on  the  terrace  sheltered  night- 
ingales, answering  song  for  song.  I  went  on  in  a  sort  of  ecstasy,  surrendering 
my  heart  and  every  sense  to  the  enjoyment  of  it  all,  and  only  sighing  for 
regret  that  I  was  enjoying  it  alone." 

"fimile,"  another  so-called  novel,  is  the  vehicle  for  Rousseau's  nat- 
ural-development theory  of  education.  "Julie,"  or  "La  Xouvelle 
Heloise"  ("The  New  Eloise"),  reveals  Rousseau  the  moralist,  pre- 
senting in  his  heroine  the  testing  and  shaping  of  character  through 
the  domestic  environment.  "Le  Contrat  Social"  ("The  Social 
Contract'')  is  theory  pure  and  simple,  without  any  veil  of  fiction, 
and  presents  Rousseau's  solution  of  the  problem  of  society — in 
effect  the  theory  of  representative  democracy.  His  immense  in- 
fluence on  the  life  and  literature  of  his  times  lay  in  the  fact  of  his 
avowed  hostility  to  conventional  standards  and  his  bold  attack 
upon  the  sanctions  of  the  age.  ";Man  was  born  free,  yet  everywhere 


FRENCH  LITERATURE 


229 


he  is  in  chains,"  said  he.  "Nature  has  made  him  good  and  happy 
— society  has  made  him  evil  and  miserable."  We  must  therefore 
reconstruct  society  along  the  lines  of  natural  law,  natural  impulse, 
natural  right.  From  the  literary  point  of  view  Rousseau  is  signifi- 
cant as  an  exponent  of  what  has  sometimes  been  called  the  ''senti- 
mental school" — of  an  emphasis  on  feeling  rather  than  intellect, 


'^. 


VILLAGE    STREET    IN    BARBIZO.N,    FRANCE 


upon  humble  rather  than  aristocratic  life,  and,  above  all,  upon  ex- 
ternal nature  as  a  living  force  influencing  the  soul  of  man.  The 
finest  passages  in  his  various  novels  are  his  descriptions  of  nat- 
ural scenes  and  effects.  Among  the  novels  produced  under  the 
influence  of  Rousseau  we  may  mention  Saint  Pierre's  "Paul  and 
Virginia,"  ^Madame  de  Stael's  "Corinne,"  and  Benjamin  Con- 
stant's "Adolphe." 

Frangois  Rene  de  Chateaubriand  (1768-1848),  regarded  for 
some  thirty  years  as  the  greatest  man  of  letters  in  France,  often  re- 
ferred to  by  critics  as  "the  father  of  the  Romantic  movement,"  a 
brooding,  melancholy ,  self-centered,  disillusioned  dreamer,  produced 
great  masses  of  half-narrative,  half-religious  writings  glorifying  the 


230  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

wilderness  and  savage  life  and  the  primitive  Christian  faith.  "The 
Genius  of  Christianity,"  partly  autobiographical  and  partly  art 
propaganda ;  "  The  Martyrs,"  a  rambling  narrative  of  the  early  days 
of  Christianity ;  "  The  Natchez,"  an  almost  grotesque  idealization  of 
the  life  of  the  American  Indian  ;  and  "Memoires  d'Outre-Tombe" 
("Memoirs  from  Beyond  the  Tomb"),  a  volume  of  self-revelation 
in  much  the  same  spirit  as  Rousseau's  "Confessions" — these  are 
his  principal  works.  Chateaubriand's  writings  are  significant  in  their 
note  of  revolt  against  the  rule  of  reason  and  science  and  in  their 
glowing  descriptions  of  nature,  often  more  richly  and  vividly  colored 
than  those  of  Rousseau  himself. 

^The  eighteenth  century  is  commonly  thought  of  as  the  most  formal 
of  all  the  periods  of  French  literature,  and  yet,  strangely  enough,  its 
significance  is  rather  that  of  substance  than  of  form.  It  was  a  period 
_of  the  release  of  great  ideas.  It  was  an  age  of  revolt — at  first  criti- 
cal and  intellectual  and  later  emotional — against  the  form  and  pres- 
sure of  a  society  that  was  hastening  to  a  judgment  that  culminated 
in  the  Reign  of  Terror.  And  the  final  phase  of  the  period,  the  work 
especially  of  Rousseau  and  Chateaubriand,  is  not  only  a  protest  but 
a  prophecy  as  well,  a  reflection  of  the  liberating  impulse  which 
in  the  field  of  literature  has  come  to  be  known  as  the  Romantic 
movement. 

The  Romantic  Movement 

Before  considering  Hugo  and  the  high  tide  of  Romanticism  we 
must  glance  briefly  at  two  or  three  writers  who  came  between  the 
end  of  the  old  movement  and  the  beginning  of  the  new.  Pierre  Jean 
de  Beranger  might  be  called  a  belated  straggler  from  the  Classical 
fold  except  that  his  poetry  is  lyrical  in  a  very  true  sense — including 
songs  of  many  types  and  of  consummate  grace,  melody,  lightness, 
and  sincerity,  such  as  "Le  Grenier"  ("The  Garret"),  "Le  Roi 
d'Yvetot"  ("The  King  of  Yvetot"),  and  "Roger  Bontemps" 
("Jolly  Roger"),  Alphonse  Prat  de  Lamartine,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  definitely  in  the  line  of  the  Rousseau  group,  with  his  ex- 
quisite "Meditations,"  "Harmonies,"  "Recueillements"  ("Recol- 
lections")— a  poet  of  rare  tenderness,  melancholy  sweetness,  and 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  231 

fine  appreciation  of  natural  beauty.  Henri  Beyle,  known  by  his  as- 
sumed name  of  "Stendhal,"  is,  in  his  rather  confused  psychological 
studies  in  fiction,  somewhat  under  the  influence  of  Chateaubriand. 

Like  most  tendencies  in  history,  the  Romantic  movement  is  a  com- 
posite of  varied  and  almost  contradictory  elements.  So  far  as  form 
is  concerned,  the  Romantic  school  sets  its  face  resolutely  against 
the  idea  of  conformity  to  models,  standards,  rules,  and  regulations. 
Form  and  style  must  vary  with  the  nature  of  the  subject  and  the 
mood  of  the  writer.  With  respect  to  subject  matter,  it  is  the  in- 
dividual that  counts  rather  than  institutions,  and  in  this  we  see  the 
Renaissance  idea  coming  to  the  front  again.  However,  the  supreme 
thing  about  the  individual  is  emotion  rather  than  reason  ;  the  final 
reality  is  that  of  sentiment,  feeling,  passion,  especially  romantic 
love.  There  is  also  the  tendency  to  get  far  away  from  the  flat  and 
unprofitable  present  to  the  mellow  charm  of  the  long  ago :  the  "  back- 
ward look"  that  dwells  so  happily  upon  the  medieval  period — the 
age  of  high  adventure,  of  the  mysteries  of  faith,  of  the  resistless 
spell  of  love.  This  is  the  conservative  tendency  in  the  movement. 
Closely  allied  to  it  is  the  gaze  upon  remote  and  strange  places — 
the  Orient,  Iceland,  haunted  ruins,  and  mountain  tops.  Also,  and 
equally  significant,  is  the  "forward  look"  to  an  emancipated  race, 
linking  itself  politically  to  republicanism,  democracy,  and  even  radi- 
cal revolt.  Something,  too,  of  international  friendliness  there  is, 
breaking  the  bonds  of  a  self-satisfied  provincialism, — a  welcoming 
of  the  Spanish  ballad,  of  the  Scottish  folk  song,  of  the  chant  of 
primitive  races,  of  Ossian,  Byron,  Scott,  Goethe.  There  is  also,  and 
perhaps  more  insistently  than  all  else,  the  worship  of  nature,  deep, 
strong,  constant — nature  which  stands  always  so  beautiful  to  re- 
buke the  baseness  of  human  society, 

Victor  Marie  Hugo  was  born  at  Besanqon  in  1802.  Despite  his 
faults,  which  were  not  a  few,  he  takes  rank  as  on  the  whole  the 
greatest  literary  genius  of  modern  France.  His  father  was  an  offi- 
cer in  the  army  of  Napoleon,  and  his  mother  a  woman  of  strong 
royalist  principles — facts  which  count  for  a  great  deal  in  an  analysis 
of  Hugo's  writings.  At  the  early  age  of  seventeen  he  was  a  leading 
contributor  to  the  Conservateur  Littiraire,  an  intensely  Romantic 


232  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

journal.  His  first  attempts  at  the  novel — "Han  of  Iceland"  and 
"  Bug  Jargal " — are  rather  crude  and  heavy-handed  attempts  in  the 
Romantic  vein.  In  his  early  volumes  of  poetry — "Odes  and  Bal- 
lades" and  "Orientales" — he  defied  practically  every  canon  of  the 
Classical  school  and  became  at  once  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the 
Romanticists.  His  first  important  play,  "Hernani,"  almost  resulted 
in  a  riot  when  run-on  instead  of  end-stopped  lines  ^  issued  from  the 
mouth  of  the  actor  who  presented  the  opening  passage.  The  play 
is  a  typical  example  of  romantic  love,  intrigue,  and  honor. 

Hernani  is  a  noble  bandit  and  a  claimant  of  the  throne  of  Spain.  He 
is  in  love  with  the  heroine,  Doiia  Sol,  whose  hand  is  sought  also  by  two 
other  noble  suitors — Gomez,  her  uncle,  and  the  king,  Don  Carlos.  Her- 
nani is  an  accidental  guest  at  the  castle  of  Gomez,  whose  high  sense  of 
honor  compels  him  to  protect  his  rival,  even  to  the  extent  of  allowing 
the  king  to  carry  off  Doiia  Sol  as  an  alternative.  Hernani  in  gratitude 
pledges  his  life  to  help  Gomez  defeat  the  election  of  Carlos  as  Emperor. 
The  project  fails,  and  Carlos,  admiring  his  noble  enemy,  gives  Dofia  Sol 
to  Hernani.  Gomez  demands  the  fulfillment  of  Hernani's  pledge.  He 
drinks  the  poisoned  cup,  Doiia  Sol  shares  it  with  him,  and  Gomez  takes 
his  own  life. 

Hugo's  other  plays,  "Marion  Delorme,"  "Lucretia  Borgia,"  "Le 
Roi  s'Amuse,"  "Ruy  Bias,"  "Mary  Tudor,"  "The  Burgraves," 
maintain  the  same  high  standard  of  characterization  and  emotional 
intensity  as  "Hernani."  Hugo  as  a  dramatist  may  be  criticized  for 
attempting  to  crowd  too  much  life  and  action  into  too  small  a  com- 
pass His  plays  lack  the  clearly  defined  episodic  structure  and  fine 
centralization  of  theme  of  the  seventeenth-century  drama.  They 
are  often  faulty  in  dramatic  technique.  They  are,  however,  intense, 
graphic,  splendidly  poetic,  even  lyrical  in  tone,  and  have  a  vitality 
and  sweep  of  movement  that  is  new  in  dramatic  writing.  With 
Hugo's  plays  should  be  mentioned  the  novel  "Notre-Dame  de 
Paris"  ("The  Hunchback  of  Notre-Dame"), that  marvelous  re- 
creation of  medieval  life  and  spirit,  looking  backward,  as  do  most 

^The  reader  will  pet  a  clear  idea  of  the  distinction  between  these  two  poetic 
forms  by  comparing  at  random  a  passage  from  Pope's  "  Essay  on  Man  "  with 
one  from  Keats 's  "Endymion." 


FRENCH  LITERATURE 


233 


of  the  plays,  deep  and  rich  in  its  handling  of  the  great  cathedral 
as  the  fitting  symbol  of  the  life  of  that  early  time.  The  plays  and 
early  novels  were  succeeded  by  another  outburst  of  poetic  genius' 
in  the  volumes  ''Les  Voix  Interieures"  ("Inner  Voices"),  "Les 
Rayons  et  les  Ombres"  (''Sunlight  and  Shadow"),  ''Les  Feuilles 
d'Automne"  ("Autumn 
Leaves"),  "Chants  du 
Crepuscule"  ("Twilight 
Songs").  It  is  hard  not 
to  speak  in  constantly 
superlative  terms  of 
Hugo's  great  work  as  a 
poet.  His  poetry  gives 
expression  to  the  soul  of 
nature  and  of  man,  in 
great  floods  of  lofty  im- 
agination, glowing  de- 
scription, and  ardent 
emotion.  We  shall  cer- 
tainly not  go  wrong  in 
assigning  to  his  work  the 
supreme  place  in  French 
lyric  poetry. 

Hugo's  political  opin- 
ions had  been  undergoing 
during  these  years  a  de- 
velopment along  the  line 
of  increasing  liberalism, 

so  that  Louis  Napoleon  upon  coming  into  power  in  1851  saw  fit  to 
send  him  into  exile.  He  departed  in  wrath,  issuing  as  he  went  his 
satirical  prose  volume  "Napoleon  le  Petit"  ("Napoleon  the  Little"). 
He  did  not  see  France  again  for  eighteen  years.  He  made  his  home 
chiefly  on  the  islands  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey.  The  fruit  of  his  exile 
appeared  in  the  lyrical  poems  entitled  "Contemplations,"  in  a  series 
of  superb  narrative  poems  on  historical  themes,  called  "La  Legende 
des  Siecles"  ("The  Legend  of  the  Ages"),  and  in  three  great  novels, 


VICTOR   HUGO 


234  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"  Les  Miserables,"  "  Travailleurs  de  la  Mer  "(" Toilers  of  the  Sea ") , 
and  "L'Homme  qui  Rit"  ("The  Man  who  Laughs").  Hugo  is 
probably  best  known  to  readers  of  English  by  "Les  Miserables."  It 
is  a  novel  of  very  unequal  power,  consisting  of  a  rather  confused 
mass  of  scenes,  motives,  and  characters,  with  much  declamatory 
eloquence  and  philosophizing.  Yet  it  is  a  great  novel  by  virtue  of 
the  author's  intense  sympathy  with  the  outcasts  and  unfortunates 
of  society,  of  the  frequent  passages  of  high  narrative  and  descrip- 
tive power  to  which  he  rises,  and  of  the  vast  sweep  of  his  move- 
ment, which  includes  almost  the  whole  of  French  life  from  the 
street  gamin  Gavroche  to  the  emperor  Napoleon.  The  following  is 
the  barest  outline  of  the  main  action  of  the  story : 

The  peasant  Jean  Valjean  is  condemned  to  the  galleys  for  stealing 
bread  for  his  sister's  starving  children.  On  gaining  his  freedom  he  is  be- 
friended by  the  saintly  Bishop  Myriel.  His  rough  and  hardened  nature 
is  touched,  and  he  becomes  a  changed  man — a  friend  of  the  poor.  He 
rises  to  a  position  of  respect  and  honor  as  a  business  man  and  mayor  of 
the  town.  At  the  culmination  of  his  success  he  learns  that  a  poor,  half- 
witted artisan  has  been  arrested  and  is  charged  with  being  Jean  Valjean, 
the  erstwhile  convict.  To  the  amazement  of  the  court  he  presents  him- 
self, saying  simply,  "I  am  Jean  Valjean."  This  is  the  crisis  of  the  story. 
He  is  sentenced  to  the  galleys  again,  but  escapes,  and  thereafter  lives  a 
fugitive  Ufe  in  the  back  streets  and  shabby  courts  of  Paris,  shadowed 
by  the  relentless  police  inspector  Javert.  Little  Cosette,  illegitimate 
child  of  a  Paris  working-girl,  whom  he  rescues  from  her  cruel  foster 
parents,  becomes  the  idol  of  his  soul,  only  to  be  taken  away  from  him 
in  the  course  of  time  by  her  lover  Marius.  In  the  Revolution  of  1830 
Marius  is  wounded,  and  Jean  Valjean  bears  him  to  safety  through  the 
underground  passageways  of  the  Paris  sewer  system.  The  lovers  are 
happily  married.  The  lowly  hero,  who  has  given  his  Ufe  for  the  grief 
and  sin  of  his  little  world,  finally  passes  calmly  away  in  the  presence 
of  his  beloved  Cosette  and  Marius. 

In  1870  Hugo  returned  to  Paris,  lent  his  moral  support  to  the 
Commune  of  1871,  and  for  fifteen  years  more  continued  his  crea- 
tive work.  "Quatre-vingt-treize"  ("Ninety-three"),  a  novel  dealing 
with  the  Reign  of  Terror,  is,  on  the  whole,  of  more  even  excellence 
than  most  of  his  other  novels,  though  it  does  not  rise  to  the  level  of 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  235 

the  finest  passages  in  "Les  Miserables."  A  second  series  of  "The 
Legend  of  the  Ages"  and  a  volume  of  lyrics  entitled  "Les  Quatre 
Vents  de  I'Esprit"  C'The  Four  Winds  of  the  Spirit")  are  on  the 
same  high  poetic  plane  as  his  earlier  work.  And  in  the  play  "Tor- 
quemada,"  his  last  work  of  importance,  he  returns  to  Spain,  the 
setting  of  his  first  great  play,  "Hernani."  He  died  in  1885,  and  in 
pomp  and  circumstance  his  obsequies  almost  rivaled  those  of  the 
great  Napoleon. 

It  is  hard  to  read  Hugo  without  a  feeling  of  enthusiastic  admira- 
tion on  the  one  hand  and  of  frequent  irritation  on  the  other.  He 
was  an  avowed  disciple  of  Chateaubriand,  and  his  works  reveal  all 
of  Chateaubriand's  virtues  and  failings,  even  to  an  insufferable 
vanity,  fostered  no  doubt  by  the  hero  worship  of  his  admirers.  He 
has  little  sense  of  measure  or  proportion.  In  much  of  his  work, 
especially  his  novels,  his  contrasts  are  violent.  He  is  sometimes  in- 
accurate as  to  facts.  His  imagination  overshadows  his  reason,  with 
a  resultant  obscurity  and  confusion.  He  always  takes  himself  seri- 
ously. But,  like  all  men  of  real  genius,  Hugo  rises  so  far  above  his 
shortcomings  that  it  seems  ungracious  to  mention  them.  The  best 
of  his  work,  preeminently  his  poetry,  has  the  power  of  carrying  the 
reader  with  it,  of  the  transference  of  vital  emotion  from  the  poet  to 
the  reader,  which  is  the  final  test  of  all  poetic  greatness. 

Of  the  remarkable  group  of  Romantic  writers  of  whom  Hugo  was 
the  center  and  inspiration  we  can  mention  only  the  most  signif- 
icant. The  poems  of  .-Xlfred  de  Vigny  (i  799-1863)  have  the  dig- 
nity, delicacy,  and  statuesque  beauty  of  the  Classical  ideal,  although 
his  vocabulary  is  largely  Romantic.  His  novels,  notably  "Cinq- 
Mars,"  reveal  the  influence  of  Scott  but  are  colored  with  his  own 
melancholy  sentiment.  Alfred  de  Musset  (1810-1857)  was  a  poet 
of  high  and  fine  if  not  original  powers,  producing  lyrics  of  exquisite 
sensibility  and  depth  of  passion.  His  short  tales  are  also  justly 
admired — such  charming  pieces  as  "Le  Merle  Blanc"  ("The  White 
Blackbird"),  "Frederic  and  Bernerette,"  and  "Mimi  Pinson." 
Some  of  his  best  work  is  revealed  in  his  delightful  comedies,  or 
proverbes,  as  he  called  them,  under  such  titles  as  "II  faut  qu'une 
Porte  soit  Ouverte  ou  Fermee"  ("A  Door  should  be  either  Open  or 


236  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Shut"),  "On  ne  Badine  pas  avec  I'Amour"  ("Love  is  not  a  Matter 
of  Jest"),  etc.  The  work  of  Theophile  Gautier  (1811-1872)  is 
characterized  by  fine  workmanship,  richness  of  color,  and  imagina- 
tive power.  His  short  poems  "Emaux  et  Camees"  ("Enamels  and 
Cameos")  are  almost  perfect  in  finish,  tone,  effect,  and  structure. 
Here  are  two  stanzas  which  will  exemplify  his  idea  of  the  poet's  art, 
as  well  as  his  own  verse  technique : 

"The  gods,  too,  die,  alas; 
But  deathless  and  more  strong 

Than  brass 
Remains  the  sovereign  song. 

"Chisel  and  carve  and  file, 
Till  thy  vague  dream  imprint 

Its  smile 
On  the  unyielding  flint."  ^ 

Gautier's  short  stories,  dealing  with  the  romantic  themes  of  dream 
love  and  reincarnation  (such,  for  example,  as  "Omphale,"  "La 
Morte  Amoureuse"  ("The  Dead  Sweetheart"),  and  "Arria  Mar- 
cella"),  reveal  him  as  a  master  in  this  type.  The  same  may  be  said 
to  a  large  extent  of  his  novels  "Captain  Fracasse"  and  "Spirite." 
"^Mademoiselle  de  ]\Iaupin"  is  a  less  conventional  portrayal  of  life ; 
its  realism  is  absolutely  frank  and  unchecked.  Gautier  exerted  a 
decided  influence  on  nearly  all  the  younger  writers  of  his  time. 

Among  the  notable  writers  of  fiction  of  the  time  we  must  reckon 
also  the  elder  Dumas  (1802-1870),  that  strange,  wayward,  ex- 
uberant, half-charlatan  romancer,  with  his  negro  ancestry,  his  "fic- 
tion factory,"  his  two  hundred  assistants,  and  his  amazing  product 
of  twelve  hundred  novels.  In  spite  of  much  contempt  from  the 
mouths  of  the  critics,  he  has  held  his  hosts  of  readers  absorbed  by 
the  romantic  spell  of  "The  Three  Musketeers,"  "Vingt  Ans  Apres" 
("Twenty  Years  After"),  "Le  Vicomte  de  Bragelonne,"  "The 
Count  of  INIonte  Cristo,"  and  other  spirited  narratives.  Another 
abundant  writer  of  fiction,  though  far  from  the  floodgate  prodigality 
of  Dumas  in  her  production,  was  Lucile  Aurora  Dupin  (1804- 

^  Translation  by  George  Santayana. 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  237 

1876),  who  wrote  under  the  assumed  name  of  "George  Sand." 
Her  earlier  novels,  '"Indiana,"  "Lelia,"  "Jacques,"  are  in  the  line 
of  Rousseau  and  Chateaubriand,  presenting  the  "misunderstood 
female"  and  the  right  of  passion, — a  right  which  she  herself  ex- 
emplified in  her  various  affairs  of  the  heart,  particularly  with  Mus- 
set  and  Chopin.  Her  later  stories,  such  as  "Andre,"  "Consuelo," 
and  "Jeanine,"  have  a  somewhat  less  personal  appeal  than  her 
earlier  ones.  Among  the  best  of  her  writings  are  the  tales  drawn 
from  the  peasant  life  of  her  native  Berri — "La  Mare  au  Diable" 
("The  Haunted  Pool"),  "Little  Fadette,"  and  "Frangois  le 
Champi." 

It  is  with  some  hesitation  that  we  place  Honore  de  Balzac  ( 1 799- 
1850)  among  the  Romanticists,  although  Dowden  characterizes 
him  as  "a  realist  attacked  by  nightmares  of  romance."  His  first 
success  came  in  1829  with  "Le  Dernier  Chouan"  ("The  Last  of  the 
Chouans"),  and  within  the  twenty  years  between  that  date  and  his 
death  he  produced  over  ninety  novels  and  tales.  The  successive 
volumes  of  "The  Human  Comedy,"  as  Balzac  called  the  series, 
were  so  many  revelations  of  a  society  made  base  and  sordid,  as  he 
believed,  by  the  leveling  mediocrity  of  the  democratic  idea.  Bal- 
zac's style  is  often  cramped  and  harsh,  but  extremely  painstaking 
and  in  general  suited  to  his  material.  The  "human  documents" 
that  he  presents  cover  almost  the  whole  range  of  motive  and  senti- 
ment, from  the  utter  baseness  of  "  Cousin  Betty  "  and  the  coarseness 
of  the  "Contes  Drolatiques"  ("Droll  Stories")  to  the  comparative 
grace  and  charm  of "  Modeste  Mignon  "  and  "  Seraphita."  The  best- 
known  of  his  novels,  aside  from  those  just  mentioned,  are  "Eugenie 
Grandet,"  "La  Recherche  de  I'Absolu"  ("The  Search  for  the  Abso- 
lute"), "Cesar  Birotteau,"  "Illusions  Perdues"  ("Lost  Illusions"), 
and  the  poignantly  tragic  "Pere  Goriot." 

The  last  named  is  the  story  of  a  father  and  his  two  daughters,  whom 
he  dearly  loves,  and  upon  whom,  like  King  Lear  of  old,  he  bestows  his 
whole  wealth,  leaving  himself  only  a  pittance.  The  daughters,  Anas- 
tasie  and  Delphine,  are  well  married,  because  so  well  dowered  by  their 
old  father,  and  are  a  pair  of  fashionable  idlers,  spending  their  father's 
money  while  he  has   to  content  himself  with  an  occasional  fleeting 


238  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

glimpse  of  them  as  they  roll  by  in  their  carriages.  At  last  he  lies  dying 
in  a  shabby  lodging-house,  and  on  the  day  of  his  wretched  death  his 
two  daughters  attend  a  grand  ball,  sending  their  empty  carriages  to  help 
fill  out  their  poor  father's  funeral. 

Balzac  had  a  fine  mastery  of  the  short  story  also,  his  best  work  in 
this  form  being  "La  Peau  de  Chagrin"  ("The  Wild  Ass's  Skin"), 
"Jesus  Christ  in  Flanders,"  and  "The  Red  Inn." 

Balzac  grips  life  at  close  quarters,  writes  with  tremendous  inten- 
sity and  vitality,  and  covers  an  immense  and  very  complex  range  of 
life,  portraying  over  two  thousand  distinct  characters,  most  of  them 
carefully  individualized.  His  purpose  was  to  present  a  complete 
view  of  the  society  of  his  times.  In  this  he  was  not  entirely  success- 
ful. His  field  is  mainly  the  middle  class,  and  in  this  class  his  studies 
are  largely  of  the  meaner  and  baser  1)^65  of  character.  He  finds 
the  triumphant  prestige  of  the  middle  class  a  deadly  blight  on  all 
true  refinement  and  beauty.  Life  under  the  existing  social  regime 
is  actuated,  as  Balzac  sees  it,  only  by  the  baser  passions,  disguised 
sometimes  by  ignorance  or  hypocrisy.  He  presents  vivid  pictures 
of  the  fierce  struggle,  the  ruthless  success,  and  the  pitiable  failure 
of  a  society  that  is  base  and  cruel,  but  from  which  there  is  no  escape 
short  of  a  return  to  divine  right,  landed  aristocracy,  and  an  estab- 
lished Church.  Within  the  scope  of  his  effort  and  his  view  of  life, 
however,  it  may  be  questioned  whether  France  has  yet  produced  a 
greater  novelist  than  Balzac. 

Prosper  Merimee  (1803-1870)  wrote  a  small  number  of  tales 
and  short  novels  of  very  high  artistic  quality,  the  best  known  of 
which  are  "Colomba,"  "Mateo  Falcone."  "La  Double  Meprise" 
("The  Double  Blunder"),  "Arsene  Guillot,"  and  "Carmen"— the 
last  a  study  in  feminine  psychology  and  motive  happily  character- 
ized by  Sainte-Beuve  as  "the  IManon  Lescaut  of  our  century." 
Merimee  was  a  man  of  the  world,  refined,  sensitive,  scholarly,  com- 
posed, almost  cynical,  distrusting  enthusiasm,  and  writing  with  an 
affected  indifference  to  style  but  really  with  the  most  painstaking 
care.  His  prose,  like  Gautier's,  exhibits  an  approach  to  that  of  the 
best  seventeenth-century  writers.  His  tales  are  little  masterpieces 
of  psychological  insight,  with  an  undercurrent  of  rather  bitter  irony. 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  239 

M^rimee  presents  the  extreme  thinness  of  the  veneer  of  our  civi- 
lization, wherein  the  beast  plays  so  large  a  part. 

Drama  in  the  Romantic  period  is  not  so  significant  a  form  as 
poetry  or  fiction.  Some  of  the  best  dramatic  work  of  the  time  was 
done  by  writers  in  these  other  fields ;  for  example,  Hugo  and  Mus- 
set.  Of  the  playwrights  proper,  Eugene  Scribe,  fimile  Augier,  the 
younger  Dumas,  and  Victorien  Sardou  occupy  the  most  important 
places. 

It  is  hard  to  estimate  the  value  of  the  Romantic  school.  It  was 
characterized  by  much  sound  and  smoke,  by  a  kind  of  boisterous 
and  sometimes  childish  outpouring  of  unregulated  feeling,  by  much 
that  was  shallow  and  careless.  It  performed  an  absolutely  neces- 
sary work,  however,  in  breaking  the  bonds  of  a  tradition  which  had 
once  been  vital  but  which  had  become  deadening;  and  even  if,  as 
in  all  historic  movements,  the  pendulum  swung  too  far,  we  must  be 
grateful  for  the  impetus  behind  it. 

Baudelaire  and  the  Parnassians 

Three  poets  who  are  often  referred  to  as  of  the  school  of  Gautier 
were  Baudelaire,  De  Banville, and  Leconte  de  Lisle.  Pierre  Charles 
Baudelaire  (1821-1867)  was  far  and  away  the  most  important 
of  the  three  and  should  perhaps  be  named,  after  Hugo,  as  the  great- 
est poet  of  the  century.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  foreign  ad- 
mirers of  Edgar  Allan  Poe.  His  poems,  among  them  "Les  Fleurs  du 
Mai"  ("Flowers  of  Evil")  and  "Petits  Poemes  en  Prose"  ("Little 
Poems  in  Prose"),  have  much  of  the  mystery  and  vivid  sensuous- 
ness  of  the  best  work  of  Poe,  and  are  marked  by  lofty  passion,  high 
idealism,  and  masterly  psychological  insight.  Baudelaire  was  the 
forerunner  of  the  group  known  as  the  Parnassians,  whose  work  falls 
chiefly  in  the  last  two  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  theory  of  the  Parnassians  was  "art  for  art's  sake," — suggest- 
ing a  delight  in  the  perfect  appropriateness  of  form  to  matter.  They 
cultivated  the  more  subtle  and  complex  emotions,  rather  than  the 
didactic  and  obvious  ones  that  had  too  largely  contented  the  Ro- 
mantic school.    The  greatest  name  of  the  Parnassian  group  is  that 


240  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

of  Paul  Verlaine  (1844-1896).  His  tendency  is  decidedly  away 
from  the  commonplace  and  obvious  toward  "nuances"— subtle  and 
fragile  and  tenuous  adumbrations  of  reality— and  toward  a  much 
freer  handling  of  rhythm  and  caesura  than  had  been  known  before. 
His  best  passages  rise  to  unparalleled  melody  and  sweetness  of  tone. 
His  justly  famous  "Chanson  d'Automne"  ("Autumn  Song")  is  a 
good  example : 

"When  a  sighing  begins 
In  the  violins 

Of  the  autumn-song, 
My  heart  is  drowned 
In  the  slow  sound, 
Languorous  and  long. 

"Pale  as  with  pain, 
Breath  fails  me  when 

The  hour  tolls  deep. 
My  thoughts  recover 
The  days  that  are  over, 

And  I  weep. 

"And  I  go 
\\Tiere  the  winds  know, 

Broken  and  brief. 
To  and  fro, 
As  the  winds  blow 

A  dead  leaf."i 

The  Naturalists 

With  Gustave  Flaubert  (1821-1880),  by  far  the  greatest  of  the 
novelists  of  the  Second  Empire,  we  come  to  a  remarkable  writer 
who  has  been  claimed  by  both  the  Realists  and  the  Romanticists. 
Flaubert's  Romanticism  lies  in  his  reaction  against  what  he  thought  ^ 
the  hopelessly  trivial  and  petty  society  of  his  times.  His  Realism  or 
Naturalism,  on  the  other  hand,  lies  in  his  extremely  objective  treat- 
ment of  life,  his  so-called  "surgical  method"  of  character  analysis. 

1  Translation  by  Arthur  Symons. 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  241 

His  best-known  novel, "  Madame  Bovary,"  is  just  such  a  calmly  dis- 
passionate analysis  of  a  hopelessly  commonplace  character  in  a 
hopelessly  commonplace  environment.  In  ''Salammbo"  and  "The 
Temptation  of  Saint  Anthony,"  as  wejl  as  in  his  masterly  short 
tales,  we  find  the  same  note  of  the  uselessness  of  the  struggle 
against  a  deadening  environment  of  mere  bargain-counter  motives. 
Flaubert's  work  was  not  great  in  quantity  and  is  somewhat  de- 
pressing in  theme,  but  is  marked  by  fine  imagination,  keen  insight 
into  the  types  of  character  presented,  subtle  mingling  of  irony 
and  poetic  feeling,  and  conscientious  care  in  the  matter  of  artistic 
■  style. 

Another  novelist  who  has  sometimes  been  claimed  by  the  Nat- 
uralistic camp,  but  whose  elements  of  difference  are  more  numer- 
ous than  his  points  of  community  with  that  school,  is  Alphonse 
Daudet  (1840-1897).  He  is  psychological  rather  than  "surgical" 
and  photographic.  He  is  fanciful  and  appreciative  rather  than 
cynical.  Eager  and  vivacious  if  not  subtle  in  his  presentation  of 
life,  he  reveals  himself  as  a  delighted  observer  of  all  its  manifesta- 
tions. He  is,  moreover,  singularly  void  of  offense  in  either  treatment 
or  subject.  His  power  of  characterization  and  of  narrative  tech- 
nique deepens  with  the  successive  volumes  of  his  Parisian  novels, 
among  which  are  "Jack,"  one  of  the  first  conscientious  studies  of 
the  artisan  class  in  France;  "The  Evangelist,"  a  keen  rebuke  to  all 
hypocrisy  and  religious  cant;  and  "Sapho,"  a  sympathetic  treat- 
ment of  the  theme  of  the  wayward  woman.  In  these  novels  the 
quality  of  pathos  and  tenderness  prevails;  but  in  the  three  "Tar- 
tarin"  novels  we  have  Daudet  as  the  inimitable  ironist,  making 
good-natured  fun  of  the  typical  Frenchman  of  the  South,  whom  he 
knew  so  well.  Daudet  was  one  of  the  best  short-story  writers  of 
France.  "La  Belle  Nivernaise"  and  the  charming  story  of  child 
life  entitled  "Le  Petit  Chose"  ("Little  What's-His-Name")  are 
typical  of  his  work  in  this  field.  His  volume  of  miscellaneous  prose 
sketches,  "Lettres  de  mon  Moulin"  ("Letters  from  my  Mill"),  is 
perhaps  the  most  satisfying  picture  of  Provengal  life  that  has  ever 
been  drawn.  Daudet's  style  at  its  best  is  almost  above  praise.  "He 
was  an  impressionist  painter,"  says  Mr.  Gosse,  "the  colors  on  whose 


242  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

palette  were  words  of  an  indescribable  abundance,  variety,  and 
exactitude."    Hence  Daudet's  work  is  likely  to  survive. 

Realism  undertakes  to  find  artistic  significance  in  the  humbler 
walks  of  life.  Naturalism  is  a  kind  of  exaggerated  Realism,  which 
seeks  chiefly  to  reveal,  by  exact  observation  and  scrupulous  analy- 
sis of  the  forces  at  work,  the  effect  on  character  of  environment — 
usually  a  sordid,  wretched,  and  vicious  environment.  Many  readers 
are  repelled  by  what  they  have  come  to  consider  the  typically 
unsavory  quality  of  French  fiction.  Of  course  it  is  true  that  the 
Naturalistic  novel  with  its  "anatomical "  method  and  "documented  " 
material  will  sometimes  be  disturbing  reading.  The  question  of  the 
extent  to  which  a  writer  is  justified  in  drawing  upon  the  disagree- 
able is  simply  a  question  of  the  presence  of  the  higher  impulse  or 
motive  actuating  his  work.  And  it  must  be  admitted  that  French 
Realistic  fiction  is  too  often  characterized,  as  one  of  the  critics  puts 
it,  by  an  evident  desire  "to  mention  the  unmentionable  with  as 
much  fulness  of  detail  as  possible."  This,  however,  is  not  the  whole 
story.  In  spite  of  much  that  one  might  wish  otherwise,  the  Nat- 
uralistic writers  have  made  a  contribution  of  real  value  to  the 
literature  of  France. 

Jules  de  Goncourt  (i83o-i87o)andhis  brother  Edmond(  1822- 
1896) ,  in  their  collaborated  series  of  novels  and  in  the  journal  which 
they  published,  deliberately  assumed  the  task  of  propaganda  for 
the  new  movement.  They  undertook  to  be  "modern"  both  in  sub- 
ject matter  and  in  style.  Their  best-known  novel,  "Germinie  Lacer- 
teux,"  marks  the  first  determined  insistence  upon  the  social  outcast 
as  proper  material  for  fiction.  As  to  style,  the  Goncourts  certainly 
achieved  a  form  that  was  original,  flexible,  and  striking,  but  often 
so  bizarre  and  grotesque  as  to  suggest  affectation.  Other  novels  by 
these  brothers  are  "Sister  Philomene,"  "Renee  Mauperin,"  and 
"Madame  Gervaisais." 

Emile  Zola  (1840-1902)  is  the  principal  exponent  of  the  Nat- 
uralistic theory  of  fiction,  and  has  been  the  target  of  much  critical 
praise  and  blame.  Possibly  his  vision  was  limited, — most  of  us  be- 
lieve that  there  are  beautiful  as  well  as  ugly  things  in  life, — but  we 
must  admit  that  the  novels  of  Zola  are  a  striking  indictment  of  the 


FRENCH  LITERATURE 


243 


blind  and  brutal  undercurrent  of  the  civilization  that  we  are  so 

ready  to  glorify.    His  principal  work  is  the  group  of  over  twenty 

novels,  known,  from  the  names  of  the  two  leading  families  involved, 

as  the  "Rougon-Macquart"  series.    The  most  important  titles  are 

"Therese  Raquin,"  the  prelude  to  the  group;  "L'Assommoir,"  a 

study  of  the  Paris  drinking-shops ;  "Nana,"  of  the  houses  of  ill 

fame;    "La   Bete    Humaine" 

("The    Human    Beast"),    of 

the  railways  ;  "Germinal,"  of 

the  mines  ;  "La  Terre"  ("The 

Soil"),  of  the  peasantry;  "La 

Debacle,"  of  the  catastrophe 

of  1871 ;  and  "Lourdes"  and 

"Rome,"    of    aspects    of    the 

Catholic  faith, 

Guy  de  Maupassant  (1850- 
1893)  was  a  disciple  of  Flau- 
bert, with  whom  in  his  earlier 
years  he  was  in  intimate  touch, 
and  whom  he  always  regarded 
as  his  master  in  the  art  of  com- 
position. Maupassant  in  his 
young  manhood  gave  himself 
freely  to  the  zest  of  life  with 

an  energetic  and  eager  abandon,  but  little  by  little  he  became  op- 
pressed by  the  terrible  nearness  and  mystery  of  death  and  by  the 
futility  of  struggle  against  the  vague  but  relentless  forces  of  life.  The 
pessimism  of  these  years  deepened  finally  into  the  insanity  which 
overhung  the  closing  years  of  his  short  career.  He  was  an  adherent 
of  the  Naturalistic  school,  but  achieved  a  compactness,  lucidity,  and 
appropriateness  of  style  to  which  Zola  and  the  Goncourts  never  at- 
tained. Hishalf-dozennovels, among  them  "Une  Vie"  ("A  Life"), 
"Mont-Oriol,"  "Pierre  and  Jean,"  and  "Fort  comme  la  Mort" 
("Strong  as  Death"),  present  life  as  a  tragic  and  hopeless  tangle  of 
frustrated  hope,  disillusion,  futile  effort,  accident,  and  misunder- 
standing. The  same  pessimism  colors  his  two  hundred  or  more  short 


GUY    DE    MAUPASSANT 


244  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

stories,  though  perhaps  in  somewhat  lesser  degree.  He  is  commonly 
regarded  as  the  greatest  modern  master  of  the  short  story.  A  few  of 
his  important  stories  in  this  form  are  ^'Mademoiselle  Fifi,"  "La 
rarure"  ("The  Necklace"),  "La  Ficelle"  ("The  Piece  of  String"), 
"Clair  de  Lune"  ("Moonlight"),  "Petit  Soldat"  ("Little  Sol- 
dier"), "The  Heritage,"  and  "Yvette."  Lafcadio  Hearn  says  of 
him  that  he  has  "the  art  of  creating  emotion  in  the  reader's  mind 
by  suppressing  it  altogether  in  the  narrative" — a  power  which  he 
calls  "the  supreme  art  of  Realism." 

Quite  apart  from  the  Naturalistic  current  stand  the  highly 
wrought  descriptive  novels  of  Julien  Viaud,  who  wrote  under  the 
pen  name  of  "Pierre  Loti"— especially  "Mon  Frere  Yves"  ("My 
Brother  Yves"),  "Madame  Chrysanthemum,"  and  "Le  Pecheur 
d'Islande"  ("The  Iceland  Fisherman").  His  volumes  of  travel, 
particularly  in  oriental  lands,  are  unsurpassed  in  varied  range  of 
descriptive  effect. 

Historians  and  Critics 

The  limited  scope  of  our  survey  allows  only  a  mere  mention  of 
the  great  nineteenth-century  historians  Michelet,  Guizot,  Thiers, 
and  Augustine  Thierry;  of  Auguste  Comte,  the  exponent  of  the 
positivist  system  of  philosophy ;  and  of  Ernest  Renan,  one  of  the 
greatest  stylists  in  French  literature  and  one  of  the  first  writers  to 
apply  the  rationalist  method  in  the  treatment  of  the  historical  de- 
velopment of  religion.  In  the  field  of  criticism  the  name  of  Charles 
Augustin  Sainte-Beuve  ( 1 804-1 869)  stands  easily  first.  The  critic, 
says  he,  must  first  rid  himself  of  all  provincial  intolerance  by  wide 
and  sympathetic  reading,  and  then  judge  of  the  work  in  hand  on 
the  basis  of  the  measure  in  which  the  writer  has  accomplished  the 
purpose  which  he  set  for  himself.  Sainte-Beuve's  achievement 
amounted  to  no  less  than  an  entire  reconstruction  of  the  science  of 
criticism.  His  works  consist  of  essays  contributed  to  various  jour- 
nals and  later  collected  and  issued  in  volumes  entitled  "Literary 
Criticisms  and  Portraits,"  "Contemporary  Portraits,"  and  "Mon- 
day Chats"  ("Causeries  du  Lundi").   In  the  field  of  criticism  we 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  245 

must  mention  also  Hippoly  te  Adolphe  Taine,  who  developed  Sainte- 
Beuve's  theory  into  a  method  of  materialistic  determinism, — ex- 
plaining genius  in  terms  of  climatic  and  economic  environment, — 
and  Edmond  Scherer  and  Ferdinand  Brunetiere,  sound  and  pene- 
trating critics  but  rather  severely  conservative  in  their  attitude. 


Recent  and  Contemporary  Writers 

We  are  now  to  make  a  very  brief  survey  of  the  recent  and  con- 
temporary literature  of  France.  With  respect  to  poetry  the  Parnas- 
sians were  succeeded  by  a  group  representing  the  Neo-Romantic, 
or  Symbolist,  movement — subjective,  almost  mystical  in  many  in- 
stances, reflecting  the  experience  of  the  soul  through  the  use  of  ma- 
terial phenomena.  The  earliest  notable  exponent  of  the  movement 
was  Stephane  Mallarme  (1842-1898),  whose  strangely  haunting 
harmonies  of  verse — such,  for  instance,  as  his  "L'Apres-midi  d'un 
Faune"  (''A  Faun's  Afternoon") — are  a  bewildering  combination 
of  musical  sound  and  obscured  meaning.  Following  in  his  wake  we 
may  note  Albert  Semaine,  whose  poems  present  exquisite  symbols 
of  vague  and  fleeting  emotion ;  Jean  ]\Ioreas,  whose  poetry  moved 
Anatole  France  to  call  him  "the  Ronsard  of  Symbolism";  and 
Henri  Regnier,  perhaps  the  most  typical  of  the  Symbolists,  whose 
poems  have  the  alluring  sound  of  Greek  lyrics  touched  by  mysticism. 
Some  of  the  contemporary  exponents  of  what  has  been  called  the 
"new  poetry"  movement  are  Francis  Jammes,  Paul  Fort,  Andre 
Spire,  Rene  Arcos,  Jules  Romaine,  Charles  Vildrac,  and  Georges 
Duhamel.  It  is  probably  too  soon  to  estimate  the  place  of  these 
poets  in  the  literature  of  France,  or  even  to  determine  their  direc- 
tion, but  they  are  at  one  in  their  subjectivity  and  in  their  rejection 
of  conventional  verse  form.  A  few  lines  from  Vildrac's  poem  ".\n 
Inn"  will  illustrate  French  vers  litre  as  employed  by  a  typical 
exponent : 

"It  is  an  inn  there  is 
At  the  cross-roads  of  Chetives-Maisons, 
In  the  land  where  it  is  always  cold. 


246  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"Two  naked  highroads  cross. 
They  never  saw  the  garnering  of  harvests ; 
They  go  beyond  the  sky-line,  very  far. 
They  are  the  cross-roads  of  Chetives-Maisons. 

"There  are  three  cottages, 
In  the  same  corner  cowering,  all  the  three ; 
Two  of  them  are  uninhabited. 

"The  third  one  is  this  inn  with  heart  so  sad. 
They  give  you  bitter  cider  and  black  bread ; 
Snow  wets  the  weeping  fire ;  the  hostess  is 
A  forlorn  woman  with  a  smile  so  sad."^ 

Symbolism  has  made  relatively  little  headway  in  French  drama, 
the  only  Symbolist  writer  of  note  in  this  field  being  Edmond  Ros- 
tand ( 1868-1918).  He  came  into  popular  favor  with  his  first  play, 
"Les  Romanesques"  ("The  Romancers"),  and  his  later  dramas 
have  added  steadily  to  his  reputation.  Most  of  his  plays  are  in 
Alexandrine  verse  form  and  reveal  a  glowing  and  richly  colored 
poetic  imagery.  "La  Princesse  Lointaine"  ("The  Far- Away  Prin- 
cess"), "Cyrano  de  Bergerac,"  "L'Aiglon"  ("The  Eaglet"),  and 
"Chanticler"  are  among  his  most  important  plays.  The  "new 
drama  "  in  France  has  followed  largely  in  the  wake  of  the  Natural- 
istic novel.  Henri  Becque  led  the  way  in  "Les  Corbeaux"  ("The 
Crows")  and  other  plays — penetrating  studies  in  character  and 
social  forces.  His  work  was  followed  by  the  somber  psychological 
studies  of  Frangois  de  Curel,  such  as  "The  Fossils,"  his  best  play; 
by  the  trenchant  onslaughts  of  Eugene  Brieux  upon  various  aspects 
of  social  maladjustment,  best  known  to  American  playgoers  by 
"La  Robe  Rouge"  ("The  Red  Robe")  and  "Les  Avaries" 
("Damaged  Goods")  ;  and  by  the  fine  technique  and  intense  moral 
impact  of  certain  plays  of  Paul  Hervieu,  such  as  "La  Course  du 
Flambeau"  ("The  Trail  of  the  Torch"). 

In  the  field  of  fiction  the  writers  are  legion.  The  novels  of  Paul 
Bourget  include  a  number  of  conscientious  character  studies,  such 
as  "The  Disciple"  and  "Cosmopolis."    Maurice  Barres,  a  writer  of 

1  Translation  by  Jethro  Bithell. 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  247 

serious  purpose  and  admirable  national  spirit,  has  given  us  some 
fine  work  in  "The  Enemy  of  the  Laws"  and  "The  Friendships  of 
France."  Marcel  Prevost  is  a  less  intense  Maupassant,  revealing 
something  of  the  same  pessimism  in  his  short  stories  and  novels. 

Jacques  Anatole  Thibaut  (i 844-1924),  writing  under  the  as- 
sumed name  of  "Anatole  France,"  at  the  time  of  his  death  regarded 
as  the  greatest  contemporary  man  of  letters  in  his  country,  was  a 
critic  and  novelist  of  rare  excellence  and  a  friend  and  counselor  of 
his  people  in  the  troublous  times  when  doubt  was  heavy  upon  their 
hearts.  He  insists  upon  no  theory  or  system,  is  not  hasty  to  de- 
nounce, and  reveals  a  seasoned  judgment  that  goes  deep  into  the 
heart  of  things.  He  produced  a  considerable  number  of  novels. 
One  of  the  earliest  and  most  popular  is  "The  Crime  of  Sylvestre 
Bonnard,"  the  story  of  a  kind-hearted  savant  and  his  unselfish  be- 
friending of  the  daughter  of  an  old  sweetheart.  Among  France's 
other  novels  are  "Thais,"  "Les  Dieux  ont  Soif"  ("The  Gods  are 
Athirst"),  ''The  Opinions  of  Jerome  Coignard,"  and  "L'Anneau 
d'Amethyste"  ("The  Amethyst  Ring").  He  has  succeeded,  in 
his  happy,  quiet,  whimsical,  gently  ironical  way,  in  capturing  the 
spirit  of  past  times,  especially  of  the  Middle  Ages,  to  a  higher 
degree  of  artistic  perfection  than  almost  any  other  of  his  country- 
men. France's  irony,  says  Mr.  Gosse,  is  a  "tender  and  consolatory 
raillery,  based  upon  compassion." 

Remain  Rolland(i866-  )  stands,  in  these  days  of  national 
hostility  and  suspicion,  for  a  broad  and  deep  internationalism  and 
a  devotion  to  spiritual  rather  than  material  values  as  the  hope  of 
the  human  race.  It  is  as  the  author  of  the  huge  novel  "Jean- 
Christophe"  that  he  has  made  his  strongest  appeal.  Published  the 
year  before  the  outbreak  of  the  World  War,  it  presents  the  life  his- 
tory of  a  German  idealist,  whose  lot  is  cast  largely  in  Paris ;  and 
through  that  experience  are  reflected  the  spiritual  life  and  hope  of 
Europe  and,  indeed,  of  the  modern  world.  The  same  high  and  gen- 
erous insistence  upon  spiritual  values  is  the  inspiration  of  his  later 
volume  of  essays,  "Au-dessus  de  la  Melee"  ("Above  the  Battle"). 
"There  is  but  one  heroism  in  the  world,"  says  Rolland,  " — to  see 
the  world  as  it  is,  and  to  love  it." 


248  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Although  not  Frenchmen,  Maeterlinck  and  Verhaeren  have  em- 
ployed the  French  language  in  all  their  writings  and  may  there- 
fore stand  as  a  sort  of  Belgian  postscript  to  this  survey  of  French 
literature.  Maurice  Maeterlinck  (1862-  )  is  one  of  the  most 
significant  figures  in  the  Symbolist  movement.  His  Symbolist  plays 
present  a  minimum  of  action  and  a  maximum  of  atmosphere — 
strange  cadences  of  dialogue,  movement,  grouping — presentments 
of  hope  deferred,  of  faith  decayed,  of  death  the  near  neighbor, 
of  fate  in  the  corridor  and  at  the  door.  This  series  includes 
eleven  plays,  tht  most  important  being  "Pelleas  and  Melisande," 
"L'Intruse"  ("The  Intruder"),  "Les  Aveugles"  ("The  Blind"), 
and  "Sister  Beatrice."  Maeterlinck  turned  later  to  the  conventional 
drama  and  produced  three  plays, — "Monna  Vanna,"  "Mary  Mag- 
dalene," and  "The  Blue  Bird," — which,  although  they  have  met 
with  considerable  popularity  on  the  stage,  hardly  rise  to  the  level 
of  his  earlier  work  either  in  form  or  substance. 

Emile  Verhaeren  (1855-1916)  is  the  greatest  of  recent  Belgian 
poets,  as  Maeterlinck  is  of  writers  of  rhythmical  prose.  In  the  vol- 
umes entitled  "Toute  la  Flandre"  ("All  Flanders")  he  presents  a 
series  of  vivid  pictures  of  the  Belgian  landscape  and  aspects  of 
Belgian  life.  In  "Les  Campagnes  Hallucinees"  ("The  Trans- 
formed Countrysides")  and  "Les  Villes  Tentaculaires "  ("The 
Tentacled  Cities")  he  reflects  in  intense,  virile,  impetuous  free 
verse  the  significance  of  the  evolution  from  a  quiet  agricultural 
regime  in  Belgium  to  a  grinding,  clashing,  industrial  one.  He  rises 
perhaps  to  his  climax  of  enthusiastic  acceptance  of  the  fullness  of 
life,  with  all  its  joy  and  grief,  in  the  wonderful  volumes  entitled 
"Tumultuous  Forces,"  "The  Multiple  Splendor,"  and  "Sovereign 
Rhythms."  "Belgium's  Agony"  is  his  cry  of  pain  at  the  desola- 
tion of  his  country  wrought  by  the  war ;  and  yet,  in  the  very  midst 
of  the  conflict,  he  reveals  in  "Parmi  les  Cendres"  ("Among  the 
Ashes")  a  renewal  of  faith  in  human  life  and  in  the  restoration  of 
his  beloved  land.  Verhaeren's  poetry  stands  for  the  insistent  cour- 
age of  a  man  among  men,  of  one  who  refuses  to  be  disheartened 
and  who  believes  that  the  forces  of  life  have  a  rightful  claim  upon 
our  loyalty. 


FRENCH  LITERATURE  249 


Reference  List 


Robinson.    Medieval  and  Modern  Times.  Ginn  and  Company. 

DuRUY.   History  of  France.    Thomas  Y.  Crowell  Company. 

Saintsbury.    Short  History  of  French  Literature.    Oxford  University  Press. 

DowDEN.    French  Literature.    D.  Appleton  and  Company. 

Brunetiere.    Manual  of  the  History  of  French  Literature.     Thomas  Y. 

Crowell  Company. 
Harper.    Masters  of  French  Literature.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Faguet.    Literary  History  of  France.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Hexry  James.    French  Poets  and  Novelists.    The  Macmiilan  Company. 
Strachey.    Landmarks  in  French  Literature   (Home  University  Library). 

Henry  Holt  and  Company. 
Wright.   History  of  French  Literature.    O.xford  University  Press. 
Saesttsbitry.    History  of  the  French  Novel.    The  Macmiilan  Company. 
Matthews.    French  Dramatists.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Matthews.    Moiiere.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Wyndham.    Ronsard  and  La  Pleiade.    The  Macmiilan  Company. 
Wells.    Modern  French  Literature.    Roberts  Bros. 

Babbitt.  Masters  of  Modern  French  Criticism.  Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 
Thompson.    French  Portraits  (deals  with  modern  writers.)    Mitchell  Ken- 

neriey. 
DucLAUX.    Twentieth    Century   French   Writers.    William  Collins   Sons   & 

Company,  London. 
Lewisohn.    Poets  of  Modern  France.    B.  W.  Huebsch. 
Lewisohn.    The  Modern  Drama.    B.  W.  Huebsch. 
Chandler.    The   Contemporary    Drama   of   France.    Little,    Brown    and 

Company. 
Oxford  Book  of  French  Verse  (French  text  only).    Oxford  University  Press. 

Translations : 

Everyman's  Library  contains  many  French  classics  in  English.    E.  P.  Dut- 

ton  &  Company ;  send  for  list. 
Foreign    Classics    for    English    Readers    includes    ten    French    authors. 

J.  B.  Lippincott  Company ;  send  for  list. 
Modern  Library  includes  certain  French  authors.    Boni  &  Liveright. 
Lucas's  "A  Book  of  French  Verse."   Oxford  University  Press. 
Thorlcy's  "Flcur-de-Lys,  An  Anthology  of  French  Poetry.''     Houghton 

Mifflin  Company. 
Modern  Book  of  French  Verse.    Boni  &  Liveright. 
Carrington's  ''Anthology  of  French  Poetry,"  loth  to  19th  centuries. 

Oxford  University  Press. 
Little   French   Masterpieces    (6   vols.)    includes   six   French    short-story 

writers.    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 
Butler's  "Tales  from  the  Old  French."     Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 
Song  of  Roland  (Butler).    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 


2 so  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Aucassin  and   Nicoktte  and  other  French  medieval  romances   (several 

editions  obtainable). 
Rabelais.    J.  B.  LipF)incott  Company;  and  others. 
Montaigne.    Houghton  Mifflin  Company;  and  others. 
Moli^re.    The  Macmillan  Company;  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons;  and  others. 
Rousseau.    J.  B.  Lippincott  Company;  and  others. 
Hugo.    Thomas  Y.  Crowell  Company ;  and  others. 
Dumas.    Little,  Brown  and  Company;  and  others. 
Balzac.    Little,  Brown  and  Company ;  and  others. 
Saintc-Beuve.    George  Routledge  &  Sons. 
Zola.    The  Macmillan  Company;  and  others. 
Rostand  (several  editions). 
Anatole  France.    John  Lane  Company. 
Maeteriincl:.    Dodd,  Mead  &  Company. 

Suggested  Topics 

Aspects  of  life  in  medieval  France. 

The  "Song  of  Roland." 

A  study  of  French  medieval  romances. 

The  French  and  the  English  conceptions  of  chivalry — a  comparison. 

Beginnings  of  the  drama  in  France. 

Essence  of  the  Classical  ideal. 

French  Classical  tragedy. 

Moliere  as  man  and  writer. 

A  study  of  Moliere's  "Tartuffe." 

Voltaire's  contribution  to  the  world. 

The  "Confessions"  of  Rousseau. 

The  Revolution  and  its  bearing  on  literature. 

A  character  study  of  Jean  Valjean  in  "Les  Miserables." 

Hugo  and  other  masters  of  French  verse. 

The  Romantic  movement — its  meaning  and  its  effect. 

The  Naturalistic  school  of  fiction. 

Some  French  short-story  writers  and  their  wprk. 

French  literature  of  the  World  War. 


CHAPTER  IX 
GERMAN  LITERATURE 

The  consideration  of  German  history  and  literature  discloses  a 
record  of  progress,  genius,  and  achievement,  leading  up  to  the  or- 
ganization of  one  of  the  chief  states  of  Europe,  a  powerful  and 
unified,  though  somewhat  arrogant,  empire.  In  due  course  came 
August,  1 9 14,  an  epochal  date  in  Germany  as  elsewhere,  ushering 
in  profound  changes  in  government,  in  the  life  of  the  people,  and 
in  currents  of  thought.  However,  our  present  chapter  has  to  do  not 
with  the  events  of  the  years  of  war  nor  with  conjectures  as  to  the 
future,  but  with  the  more  significant  currents  of  German  life  and 
letters  of  the  past. 

The  German  race  and  language.  Long  before  the  Christian  Era 
the  Germanic  tribes,  a  branch  of  the  Indo-Europeans,  settled  in  the 
north-central  portion  of  Europe.  Their  kinsfolk,  the  Celts,  went 
farther  west,  while  the  Slavs  settled  to  the  east.  The  oldest  form  of 
the  Gothic  tongue,  common  to  all  the  Germanic  peoples,  still  exists 
in  a  most  interesting  document.  Bishop  Ulfilas'  translation  of  the 
Bible,  made  in  the  fourth  century  and  preserved  in  part  to  our  own 
day.  Even  earlier  than  that,  however,  there  were  various  dialects  in 
current  use.  To  the  north  the  Scandinavian  language  was  being 
formed.  High  German,  spoken  in  the  highlands  of  southern  Ger- 
many, had  two  main  elements,  Frankish  and  Swabian ;  while  Low 
German,  the  speech  of  the  lower  lands  more  to  the  north  and  west, 
was  the  basis  of  Anglo-Saxon,  Frisian,  Flemish,  and  Dutch.  We 
cannot  enter  into  these  matters  very  elaborately,  but  it  is  important 
to  remember  that  the  German  language  is  related  to  the  languages 
of  these  other  peoples,  and  that  High  German  itself  had  several 
periods:  the  Old,  Saxon  in  type,  flourishing  until  1050  or  iioo,  the 
time  of  the  Crusades  ;  the  Middle,  existing  from  that  time  until  the 
Reformation ;  and  the  Modern,  the  literary  and  ordinary  speech  of 

251 


2  52  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

CJermany,  continuing  until  our  day,  a  union  of  the  current  dialects 
of  Luther's  time — a  vigorous  language  which  Luther  himself  was 
largely  instrumental  in  fixing  permanently.  ''I  have  not,"  wrote 
Luther,  "a  distinct,  particular,  and  peculiar  kind  of  language,  but  I 
use  the  common  German  language  in  order  that  the  inhabitants  of 
both  the  upper  and  the  lower  counties  may  understand  me." 

German  is  the  speech  of  Germany,  of  Luxemburg,  of  Austria, 
and  of  the  larger  part  of  Switzerland.  It  is  spoken  by  about  eighty 
million  people.  Like  English  it  has  taken  over  many  Latin  and 
French  words.  It  has  retained — as  the  English  language,  generally 
speaking,  has  not — its  early  unaccented  word  endings,  which  give 
it  on  the  whole  a  greater  freedom  in  its  poetry.  German  prose  has 
never  been,  however,  as  flexible  a  mode  of  expression  as  English. 
Long,  polysyllabic  words  and  involved  sentences  are  common.  It 
was  Mark  Twain,  we  believe,  who  complained  that  Schiller  wrote 
his  "History  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War"  between  the  two  parts  of  a 
German  verb !  The  histories  of  Niebuhr  and  Mommsen,  the  phil- 
osophical writings  of  Kant  and  Hegel,  and  the  criticism  of  Lessing 
and  Herder  are  all,  in  general,  less  attractive  as  literature  than 
similar  French  and  English  works.  The  German  people  have 
excelled,  however,  in  their  folklore  and  fairy  stories,  or  marchen. 

Certain  German  traits  seem  to  be  characteristic.  The  German  has 
a  strongly  sentimental  and  romantic  vein ;  he  is  a  lover  of  nature 
and  of  music.  When  the  Roman  Tacitus  described  the  early  Ger- 
manic tribes,  he  told  of  their  battle  songs  and  hymns,  which  were 
sung  in  chorus.  All  through  their  history  the  lyric  impulse  has  been 
strong,  as  witnessed  by  songs,  patriotic  and  love  poems,  nature 
lyrics,  and  hymns.  The  German  is  also  keenly  intellectual  and  has 
a  veritable  passion  for  philosophical  thought.  In  his  mental  proc- 
esses he  is  apt  to  be  deliberative  and  methodical,  with  a  tendency 
to  go  to  the  bottom  of  things  and  to  say  the  last  word.  Though  not 
ordinarily  original,  he  is  a  patient  investigator.  German  learning 
explores  all  fields, — art,  criticism,  history,  philosophy,  science,  re- 
ligion,— generally  without  brilliance,  but  always  with  thoroughness. 

Of  English  interpreters  of  German  literature  Coleridge  and  Car- 
lyle  were  among  the  earliest  and  most  influential. 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  253 

The  Early  Period 

We  must  think  of  the  Germanic  tribes  as  hardy,  resourceful,  war- 
like, and  independent,  and  as  extending  from  the  land  of  the 
Vikings  at  the  north  to  the  northern  limits  of  the  Roman  Empire  at 
the  south.  The  central  European  peoples  shared  the  religious  and 
mythological  ideas  of  their  northern  kinsfolk.  Christianity  was  gen- 
erally accepted,  however,  in  Germany  before  Charlemagne's  time, 
and  the  Northern  gods  were  abandoned.  It  was  not  so  easy,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  relinquish  a  belief  in  primitive  superstitions  and 
magic,  in  elves,  wood  sprites,  and  dwarfs.  The  German  has  always 
felt  at  home  in  this  strange  world,  and  in  our  own  day  sees  nothing 
especially  incongruous,  for  example,  in  the  material  of  such  a  play 
as  Hauptmann's  ''The  Sunken  Bell." 

The  earliest  literature  was  not  written  literature  and  has  therefore 
not  been  preserved.  It  apparently  dealt  with  mythological  themes 
and  with  heroic  stories,  the  heritage  of  centuries  of  conflict.  Back 
of  the  rude  alliterative  poems  which  were  handed  down  orally  from 
generation  to  generation  were  legendary  tales  and  also  a  certain 
amount  of  authentic  history.  The  latter  had  mainly  to  do  with  the 
migrations  of  Germanic  tribes,  with  the  Burgundian  kingdom  on 
the  Rhine  near  Worms,  with  King  Attila  and  his  terrible  horde  of 
Huns  who  swept  across  Europe  in  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century, 
and  with  Theodoric  the  Ostrogoth  and  his  victory  over  Odoacer  in 
489  at  Verona.  After  the  lapse  of  centuries  exact  chronology  was 
forgotten,  the  heroes  were  all  grouped  in  one  generation,  Attila  be- 
came Etzel,  Gundahari  the  Burgundian  became  King  Gunther,  and 
Theodoric  of  Verona  became  Dietrich  of  Bern.  This  brings  us  to 
the  earliest  undoubted  works  of  literature  in  German. 

The  "Hildebrandslied."  A  sixty-nine  line  fragment  written  at 
the  end  of  the  eighth  century  but  having  to  do  with  a  period  about 
two  hundred  years  earlier,  the  "Hildebrandslied"  (or  the  "Lay  of 
Hildebrand"),  is  an  interesting  example  of  the  once  numerous 
popular  epics  of  Germany.  Hildebrand,  master-at-arms  of  Dietrich, 
returning  from  years  of  sojourn  among  the  Huns,  meets  in  single 
combat  the  champion  of  an  opposing  host,  who  unexpectedly  proves 


2  54  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

to  be  his  own  son.  '"O  mighty  God,'  cries  Hildebrand,  'a  drear 
fate  happens.  Sixty  summers  and  winters,  ever  placed  by  men 
among  the  spearmen,  I  have  so  borne  myself  that  bane  got  I  never. 
Now  shall  my  own  child  smite  me  with  the  sword,  or  I  be  his 
death?'"  The  "Hildebrandslied"  is  human  in  spirit,  strictly 
alliterative  in  form,  and  written  in  a  mixture  of  High  and  Low 
German  dialect. 

The  "Nibelungenlied."  Much  more  important  is  the  noble  and 
complete  epic  poem  written  in  Middle  High  German  in  the  early 
thirteenth  century  by  an  unknown  poet  gifted  with  imagination  and 
power.  The  "Nibelungenlied"  is  a  composite  German  version  of 
the  heroic  tales  that  are  to  be  found  also  in  the  Icelandic  Eddas  and 
in  the  Norse  "  Volsunga  Saga."  The  poem  contains  about  ten  thou- 
sand lines  in  four-line  stanzas  and  is  divided  into  thirty-nine  adven- 
tures. An  idea  of  the  strength  and  ruggedness  of  the  original  and 
of  its  metrical  form  may  be  gained  from  the  first  two  stanzas,  here 
given  with  Carlyle's  very  exact  translation : 

"Uns  ist  in  alten  maeren   Wunders  vii  geseit, 
Von  heklen  lobebaeren    Von  grozer  chuonheit ; 
Von  vrouden  und  hoch-geziten.    Von  weinen  und  von  chlagen, 
Von  chuner  rechen  striten,    Muget  ir  nu  wunder  horen  sagen. 

"Es  wijhs  in  Burgonden    Ein  vil  edel  magedin, 
Das  in  alien  landen    Niht  schoners  mohte  sin  : 
Chriemhilt  was  si  geheien,  Si  wart  ein  schone  wip ; 
Darumbe  miisen  degene   Vil  verliesen  den  lip." 

"We- find  in  ancient  story    Wonders  many  told, 
Of  heroes  in  great  glory   With  spirit  free  and  bold ; 
Of  joyances  and  high-tides.    Of  weeping  and  of  woe. 
Of  noble  Recken  striving.    Mote  ye  now  wonders  know. 

"A  right  noble  maiden    Did  grow  in  Burgundy, 
That  in  all  lands  of  earth    Naught  fairer  mote  there  be, 
Kriemhild  of  Worms  she  hight.    She  was  a  fairest  wife ; 
For  the  which  must  warriors    A  many  lose  their  life." 

The  scene  is  laid  among  Kriemhild's  Burgundian  kinsmen  on  the 
Rhine ;  in  the  Netherland  region  where  the  hero  Siegfried  lived ;  in 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  255 

Iceland,  where  Siegfried  went  to  aid  King  Gunther,  the  brother  of 
Kriemhild,  in  gaining  the  warrior  princess  Brunhild  as  his  wife ;  and 
in  Hungary,  the  home  of  Kriemhild  after  Siegfried's  death.  It  is  a 
story  of  the  elemental  passions  of  jealousy,  hatred,  and  revenge, 
leading  to  the  extinction  of  the  powerful  Burgundians.  Purely 
pagan  in  its  point  of  view,  it  shows  no  trace  of  Christianity  beyond 
a  few  formal  observances.  Over  the  tale  brood  fatalism  and  woe, 
almost  from  the  first  words.  Yet  the  glimpse  which  we  have  of 
Siegfried — courageous,  handsome,  good-natured,  of  divine  lineage, 
the  slayer  of  the  dragon,  the  possessor  of  the  sinister  hoard,  or 
treasure,  of  the  Nibelungs — is  singularly  engaging.  Kriemhild  her- 
self, undeniably  the  central  figure,  is  the  worthy  choice  of  a  hero. 
Her  loyal  affection  for  Siegfried  and  her  tragic  fortunes  alike  blind 
us  to  the  unlovely  traits  in  her  character.  Brunhild  is  less  a  Val- 
kyrie and  less  a  prime  mover  of  events  than  in  the  Norse  version 
of  the  story,  Hagen,  the  vassal  of  King  Gunther  and  the  slayer  of 
Siegfried,  grows  in  strength  as  the  tale  advances,  and  at  the  close 
Kriemhild  and  he  stand  over  against  each  other,  deadly  enemies, 
alike  doomed  to  destruction — two  striking  epic  figures.  The  poem 
contains  unforgetable  scenes :  Siegfried's  first  meeting  with  Kriem- 
hild ;  the  trial  of  skill  between  Gunther,  assisted  by  Siegfried,  and 
the  almost  superhuman  Brunhild ;  the  quarrel  of  the  two  proud 
queens  before  the  minster  at  Worms ;  the  stealthy  doing  to  death 
of  Siegfried ;  and  the  last,  greatest  scene  of  all,  in  which  Etzel  and 
Dietrich  are  reluctantly  drawn  into  the  struggle  and  assist  in  the 
overthrow  of  the  Burgundians  and  the  final  vengeance  of  Kriem- 
hild. The  reader  will  not,  however,  be  content  with  this  piecemeal 
account.  There  are  several  spirited  verse  and  prose  translations. 
Carlyle's  essay  on  the  "  Nibelungenlied  "  brings  back  the  atmosphere 
of  the  old  poem  in  a  marvelous  way  and  is  shot  through  with  the 
genius  and  poetic  appreciation  of  Carlyle  himself. 

Other  heroic  material.  There  is  other  interesting  medieval  epic 
material  to  be  found  in  the  "  Heldenbuch,"  or  "  Book  of  the  Heroes," 
a  collection  made  at  the  command  of  Emperor  Maximilian  I 
(1459-15 19).  One  of  the  poems  included  is  the  fragment  of  the 
"Hildebrandslied,"  already  mentioned;  another  is  an  epic  of  over 


2  56  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

twenty-four  hundred  lines,  entitled  "The  Great  Rose  Garden," 
allied  in  its  subject  matter  to  the  "Nibelungenlied."  The  most 
valuable  item  in  the  collection  is  "Gudrun,"  an  epic  of  about 
sixty-eight  hundred  lines,  written  about  12 lo.  It  groups  together 
several  stories— stories  of  the  north  German  coast  and  of  sea 
voyages  and  adventures.  The  character  of  Gudrun  herself  displays 
real  heroism,  fortitude,  and  devotion.  Less  powerful  and  artistic 
than  the  "Nibelungenlied,"  "Gudrun"  is  decidedly  more  pleasing 
in  its  material. 

Court  epic  and  medieval  romance.  The  second  general  group  of 
poems  coming  from  the  early  period  of  German  literature  consists 
of  court  epics,  whose  themes  were  borrowed  partly  from  the  cycle  of 
stories  concerned  with  King  Arthur  and  his  Knights  of  the  Round 
Table.  They  impress  the  reader  as  less  original  than  the  epics  of  the 
old  Germanic  heroes.  They  were  preceded  by  epics  based  upon  the 
stories  of  the  ^neid,  the  Trojan  War,  and  Ovid's  "  Metamorphoses," 
strangely  transformed  to  exhibit  the  ideals  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The 
Arthurian  romances  were  handled  chiefly  by  three  South  Germans. 
Hartmann  von  Aue,  the  first  of  these,  born  about  1 1 70,  was  a  Swa- 
bian,  the  vassal  of  a  nobleman.  Two  of  his  epics  are  Arthurian, 
another  gives  the  legend  of  Saint  Gregory,  and  a  fourth,  esteemed 
as  his  best,  is  a  tale  from  the  Latin,  "Der  Arme  Heinrich."  This 
tale  is  retold  in  Longfellow's  ''Golden  Legend."  The  second  and 
most  conspicuous  of  these  court  epic  poets,  Wolfram  von  Eschen- 
bach,  was  a  gifted,  original,  and  high-principled  man.  He  was  born, 
probably  in  Bavaria,  about  1165.  A  poor  vassal,  without  school 
education  and  unable,  as  he  tells  us,  to  read  or  write,  he  was  never- 
theless undoubtedly  a  poet  of  high  order.  "Parzival,"  his  great 
epic  poem,  composed  early  in  the  thirteenth  century,  deals  with 
the  legend  of  the  Holy  Grail  and  contains,  in  all,  about  twenty-five 
thousand  lines.  Adventure,  the  chief  impulse  of  other  medieval  ro- 
mances, is  here  strictly  subordinated  to  character  development  and 
the  deepening  and  perfecting  of  the  spiritual  life.  Parzival,  beset 
by  doubt,  discouragement,  and  trial,  is  victorious  through  his  purity 
of  spirit  and  confidence  in  God.    It  is  a  noble  poem,  the  finest  of 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  257 

all  the  poems  of  chivalry.  Gottfried  von  Strassburg,  the  third  court 
epic  poet,  was,  like  his  predecessors,  untitled,  but  probably  well 
educated.  His  only  epic,  "Tristan  und  Isolde,"  unfinished  at  his 
death,  was  written  about  12 10.  It  is  an  involved  story  of  adven- 
ture, love,  revenge,  and  tragic  death,  with  most  of  its  scenes  in  Corn- 
wall, in  southwest  England. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  Wagner,  the  great  German  composer, 
utilized  the  themes  of  these  medieval  romances  in  his  music  dramas 
"Parsifal"  and  "Tristan  und  Isolde."  His  tetralogy,  "Der  Ring  des 
Nibelungen,"  is  based  mostly  on  the  Norse  rather  than  on  the  Ger- 
man version  of  the  story  of  the  Nibelungs. 

MiNNESONG,    MaSTERSONG,   AND   FoLK   SONG 

In  the  consideration  of  the  German  lyric  it  will  be  necessary  to 
retrace  our  steps  for  a  moment.  A  number  of  Old  Saxon  and  Prank- 
ish religious  pieces  have  been  preserved  dating  back  as  far  as  the 
ninth  century.  These  are,  however,  inferior  to  the  contemporary 
French  and  English  product.  There  are  curious  breaks  in  the  con- 
tinuity of  German  literature.  Almost  nothing,  for  example,  comes 
from  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries.  In  the  succeeding  century 
many  religious  legends  and  secular  romances  in  verse  appear,  and 
the  early  thirteenth  is,  as  we  have  seen,  the  period  of  the  heroic 
epics  and  the  court  epics.  This  century,  ushered  in  so  auspiciously, 
is  also  the  era  of  the  minnesingers.  By  the  term  "minnesong"  is 
signified  properly  "love  song,"  or,  in  an  even  more  restricted  sense, 
the  song  of  the  poet  in  homage  or  service  to  his  lady.  Provengal  or 
French  types  gave  the  German  poets  their  models,  but  considerable 
originality  was  soon  displayed,  and  the  range  of  the  poems  is  one  of 
their  chief  charms.  Lyrics  of  various  kinds,  including  those  of  love, 
nature,  politics,  and  religion,  are  included.  The  number  of  minne- 
singers was  very  large,  for  songs  by  at  least  one  hundred  and  sixty 
of  them  are  extant  today.  Generally  speaking,  they  belonged  to  the 
lower  nobility,  and  their  songs  were  intended  to  be  sung  in  court  to 
tunes  composed  by  the  poets  themselves.    The  common  form  of  the 


258  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

|X)em  consisted  of  three  stanzas,  the  first  two  giving  the  theme  and 
the  third  the  conclusion.  A  marked  characteristic  was  sincerity. 
The  poems  set  forth  simple  and  real  human  affection,  ardent  love  of 
nature  and  of  God,  and  true  patriotism.  They  began  to  appear  as 
early  as  11 60;  by  the  thirteenth  century  they  were  at  their  best. 
Western  Germany,  Alsatia,  Switzerland,  and  Thuringia  all  contrib- 
uted well-known  minnesingers.  By  far  the  most  important,  how- 
ever, was  Walther  von  der  Vogelweide  {c.  1165-1230).  He  was, 
indeed,  the  chief  lyric  poet  of  Germany  before  Goethe,  and  his 
high  personal  ideals,  winning  personality,  sensitive  and  poetic 
nature,  and  versatility  as  an  artist  combine  to  make  him  one  of 
the  most  interesting  of  medieval  poets.  His  years  of  preparation 
were  spent  at  the  court  in  Vienna.  For  a  period  he  had  a  rather 
precarious  existence  as  a  wandering  minstrel.  His  legendary  meet- 
ing with  his  great  contemporary  Wolfram  von  Eschenbach,  at  the 
Wartburg,  is  made  a  picturesque  incident  by  Wagner  in  his  music 
drama  "Tannhauser."  Walther  was  fortunate  in  having  the  cul- 
tured Hohenstaufen  emperor  Frederick  II  as  his  patron  during  his 
later  years.    He  had  long  craved  a  settled  habitation. 

"Fain,  could  it  be,  would  I  a  home  obtain. 

And  warm  me  by  a  hearth-side  of  my  own. 
Then,  then,  I'd  sing  about  the  sweet  birds'  strain. 

And  fields  and  flowers,  as  I  have  whilome  done ; 
And  paint  in  song  the  lily  and  the  rose 

That  dwell  upon  her  cheek  who  smiles  on  me. 
But  lone  I  stray — no  home  its  comfort  shows : 

Ah,  luckless  man !  still  doomed  a  guest  to  be  I"^ 

A  number  of  Walther's  poems  have  been  translated  by  Edward 
Taylor.  The  reader  is  referred  to  them  (see  the  extracts  in  the 
Warner  Library)  for  examples  of  his  various  meters  and  his  wide 
range  of  subjects.  Walther,  with  his  vivid  patriotism  and  independ- 
ence of  spirit,  proved  a  powerful  political  force  in  the  Germany  of 
his  day.  Few  German  writers  possessed  so  engaging  a  personality. 

1  Translation  by  Edward  Taylor. 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  259 

"I  should  be  sorry,"  remarks  an  admiring  contemporary,  "for 
anyone  who  could  forget  him." 

By  the  fourteenth  century  the  minnesingers  were  giving  way  to 
the  mastersingers.  Life  had  become  more  realistic  and  prosaic; 
knighthood  and  the  life  of  the  courts  made  less  appeal ;  the  middle 
class  began  to  assert  itself;  towns,  with  their  industrial  life,  their 
burghers,  their  guilds  of  workers,  sprang  up ;  the  first  universities 
were  founded ;  there  was  a  demand  for  moral  and  didactic  litera- 
ture. All  this  is  reflected  in  the  poetry  of  the  period.  The  artisans 
who  succeeded  the  court  poets  and  minstrels  were  sadly  wanting 
in  poetic  fire  and  imagery.  With  them  technique  was  everything. 
These  mechanics  came  together  in  guilds,  or  singing-schools,  and 
contended  for  prizes.  Southern  Germany,  particularly  Nuremberg, 
was  their  principal  center,  and  the  sixteenth  century  their  great 
period. 

A  new  and  much  more  important  literary  development,  dating 
chiefly  from  the  fifteenth  century,  must  now  claim  our  attention. 
There  was  an  extraordinary  and  long-continued  outburst  of  lyric 
activity  on  the  part  of  the  people.  A  good  deal  of  this  lyric  poetry 
had  been  in  existence  for  a  long  period,  unwritten,  and  was  first  col- 
lected at  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century.  This  genuine  poetry  of 
the  people,  or  folk  song,  was  not  ordinarily  narrative  in  form — for 
the  Germans  have  not  taken  naturally  to  the  ballad  form — but 
purely  lyric.  In  richness,  beauty,  and  variety  it  surpasses  the  sim- 
ilar poetry  of  other  nations.  Thousands  of  specimens  have  been 
collected.  They  deal  with  common  events,  domestic  scenes,  war 
and  conviviality  and  comradeship,  nature,  and  all  the  sentiments  of 
human  life.  A  famous  collection  of  this  poetry,  "  Des  Knaben  Wun- 
derhorn,"  published  in  1806-1808,  inspired  the  poet  Heine  to  write, 
"In  these  songs  one  feels  the  heart-beatings  of  the  German  people; 
here  reveals  itself  all  the  somber  joyousness,  all  the  idle  wisdom  of 
the  nation;  here  German  anger  drums  its  measure,  here  German 
jest  pipes  its  notes,  and  here  German  love  blends  its  kisses." 


26o  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Reformation  and  Renaissance 

From  early  times  almost  to  our  own  day  Germany  was  separated 
into  a  number  of  virtually  independent  states.  This  was  due  partly 
to  the  break-up  of  Charlemagne's  eastern  dominion  into  several 
groups,  and  to  the  notion  of  the  medieval  German  emperors  that 
their  glory  consisted  more  in  their  overlordship  of  the  illusory  Holy 
Roman  Empire  than  in  bringing  together  the  scattered  principali- 
ties of  Germany  into  one  political  whole.  The  power  of  the  vassal 
princes  grew  apace  during  these  centuries,  and  in  1254,  for  ex- 
ample, at  the  close  of  the  Hohenstaufen  period,  there  were  some 
three  hundred  separate  states,  united  only  in  common  blood,  lan- 
guage, and  customs.  An  interesting  movement  dates  from  the  same 
century,  however, — the  rise  of  the  free  cities  and  the  increasing 
power  of  the  burghers.  We  have  seen  that  in  literature  both  mas- 
tersong  and  folk  song  represented  the  expression  of  the  common 
people  rather  than  the  court  poets.  The  once  rich  period  of  Middle 
High  German  had  departed — a  new  age  was  about  to  dawn. 

In  recording  the  disappearance  of  medievalism  and  the  emergence 
of  modern  life  in  Germany,  let  us  note  several  contributing  causes. 
There  was  a  deep  desire  on  the  part  of  all  classes  for  the  intellectual 
life.  Within  the  two  centuries  succeeding  the  establishment  of  the 
University  of  Prague  in  1348,  fourteen  institutions  of  higher  learn- 
ing were  founded.  There  was  a  dissatisfaction  with  existing  society 
and  religion,  to  which  biting  satire  gave  witness — especially  the  so- 
called  beast  fable,  represented  by  its  most  famous  example,  "Rey- 
nard the  Fox."  The  invention  of  printing  from  movable  type,  about 
1450,  soon  brought  literature  within  the  reach  of  every  man.  His 
horizon  was  expanded  also  by  the  knowledge  of  new  lands  across 
the  seas.  Humanistic  studies  were  eagerly  pursued  in  Germany,  as 
in  other  European  countries.  Erasmus  (1466-1536)  and  Reuchlin 
(145 5- 1 52 2)  were  great  and  influential  factors  in  the  Humanist 
movement,  but  as  they  wrote  chiefly  in  Latin,  their  writings  need 
little  comment  in  a  brief  discussion  of  German  literature.  Human- 
ism had  the  tenderrcy  to  influence  religious  reform.  Furthermore, 
the  temporal  princes  of  Germany  were  perennially  jealous  of  the 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  261 

power  of  the  Church.  Last  of  all,  there  were  certain  scandals  and 
abuses  within  the  Church  that  brought  about  the  Protestant  Ref- 
ormation and  the  Counter-Reformation  of  the  Roman  Church  itself. 
The  figure  of  Martin  Luther  dominates  the  period  of  the  Refor- 
mation. He  was  born  at  Eisleben,  in  1483.  It  may  be  said  that  the 
Reformation  was  launched  and  a  new  age  begun  October  31,  15 17, 
when  he  nailed  his  ninety-five  "Theses  against  Indul- 
gences" on  the  door  of  the  Schlosskirche  in  Wittenberg. 
In  1520  he  issued  his  three  tracts  on  Protestantism;  in 


IRffnw  pfalmo^  role^njmiftarf  rapiraliu  trro  ^ 
ratuG  •nibriraiionibufcp  liiHiricntfr  Diftinrtue* 
aOinurnronf  artififiora  imprimmDi  arrarailm^anDi: 
abfi^DllaralamiffararonefKfffigiatim-ttaDlauUm 
ttiar  ^noitfaniti  |an)birftofiimat9,pfr}lo^fm  fufl" 
riufmagutmu'frl6ftru^tlp%trgtmf^)Tiidmm' 
'Jirm  Dmpllrfimo  mtii^'iiri^Die-mnifiaHugiilJi, 

EARLY  PRINTING    (CLOSING   LINES   OF   THE   PSALTER  OF  1459) 

the  following  year  he  appeared  before  the  Imperial  Diet  in  Worms; 
in  1522  appeared  his  German  translation  of  the  New  Testament, 
followed,  twelve  years  later,  by  the  Old  Testament.  He  died  at 
Eisleben,  in  1546.  Judged  as  a  factor  in  the  history  of  German 
literature,  Luther  made  his  chief  contribution  in  his  translation  of 
the  Bible.  The  strong,  popular  language  which  he  evolved  became 
forthwith  the  speech  of  Germany.  Luther's  Bible  is  therefore  a 
literary  monument.  Among  Luther's  other  very  numerous  writings 
his  "Table  Talk"  deserves  special  mention  ;  also  his  hymns,  thirty- 
seven  in  all,  of  which  the  most  celebrated  is  "Ein  feste  Burg  ist 
unser  Gott."  The  first  and  fourth  stanzas  of  this  hymn,  in  Carlyle's 
rugged  literal  translation,  are  here  given : 

"A  safe  stronghold  our  God  is  still, 
A  trusty  shield  and  weapon ; 
He'll  help  us  clear  from  all  the  ill 
That  hath  us  now  o'crtaken. 


262  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  ancient  Prince  of  Hell 
Hath  risen  with  purpose  fell ; 
Strong  mail  of  craft  and  power 
He  weareth  in  this  hour — 
On  earth  is  not  his  fellow. 

"God's  word,  for  all  their  craft  and  force, 
One  moment  will  not  linger, 
But,  spite  of  Hell,  shall  have  its  course : 
'Tis  written  by  his  finger. 

And  though  they  take  our  life, 
Goods,  honor,  children,  wife, 
Yet  is  their  profit  small : 
These  things  shall  vanish  all. 
The  City  of  God  remaineth." 

In  our  brief  study  it  is  not  possible  to  devote  much  attention 
to  other  writers  of  the  German  Reformation — to  Melanchthon, 
Luther's  friend;  nor  to  Ulrich  von  Hutten,  whose  writings  were 
mainly  in  Latin ;  nor  to  the  satirists  Murner  and  Fischart.  Hans 
Sachs,  however,  though  not  a  man  of  genius,  is  of  interest  because 
of  his  prolific  production  and  because  of  his  influence  on  the  drama. 
By  trade  he  was  a  cobbler  of  Nuremberg,  where  he  was  born  in 
1494  and  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-two.  He  is  himself  re- 
sponsible for  a  catalogue  of  his  writings :  forty-two  hundred  mas- 
tersongs,  two  hundred  and  eight  comedies  and  tragedies,  seventeen 
hundred  comic  tales,  and  seventy-three  miscellaneous  lyrics !  We 
are  not  told  how  much  cobbling  he  did  by  the  way.  His  friend  Adam 
Puschmann  describes  Hans  Sachs,  in  a  song  on  his  death,  as  seen  in 
a  Christmas  Eve  vision  seated  in  his  summerhouse :  ''In  the  middle, 
a  round  table  covered  with  green  silk;  whereat  sat  an  old  man 
gray  and  white,  and  like  a  dove;  and  he  had  a  great  beard,  and 
read  in  a  great  book  with  golden  clasps."  It  will  be  recalled  that 
Wagner  has  paid  tribute  to  Hans  Sachs  in  ''Die  Meistersinger 
von  Niirnberg." 

The  drama  in  Germany  had  its  beginnings,  as  in  neighboring 
countries,  in  religious  plays  written  largely  in  Latin.    By  the  fif- 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  263 

teenth  century  a  popular  type  of  drama  in  the  language  of  the  peo- 
ple had  been  evolved,  the  Fastnachtsspiel,  or  Shrovetide  play.  In 
the  era  of  the  Reformation  dramatic  production  was  common  and 
varied.  Hans  Sachs's  chief  strength  as  a  playwright  showed  itself 
in  Shrovetide  plays  consisting  of  humorous  stories  in  dialogue  form. 
German  drama,  however,  had  not  yet  arrived  in  any  real  sense. 

A  barren  period  in  German  literature,  the  seventeenth  century, 
was  due  chiefly  to  that  terrible  tragedy  the  Thirty  Years'  War 
(161 8-1 648),  a  conflict  between  Protestantism  and  Catholicism, 
which  had  its  rise  in  Germany  but  involved  a  large  part  of  the  Con- 
tinent and  in  the  end  reduced  central  Europe  to  a  forlorn  and  im- 
poverished condition.  In  161 8  the  German  people  numbered  thirty 
millions;  in  1648,  twelve  millions.  Recovery  was  slow.  Intellectual 
freedom  was  crushed  by  a  narrow  orthodoxy ;  there  were  political 
disruption  and  a  noticeable  lack  of  patriotism.  Of  the  numerous 
writings  of  the  period  few  were  vigorous  or  original ;  foreign  models 
were  drawn  upon.  Martin  Opitz,  a  poet  and  critic,  is  the  chief 
representative  of  the  Renaissance  movement  in  Germany.  Among 
religious  writers  the  mystic,  Bohme,  achieved  some  prominence. 
Notable  advances  were  made  also  in  German  hymnology.  The  be- 
ginnings of  the  modern  German  novel  were  laid  in  this  century,  its 
chief  representative  being  the  "Simplicissimus,"  a  sort  of  pica- 
resque tale  by  Christoffel  von  Grimmelshausen,  appearing  in  1669. 
In  the  early  eighteenth  century  the  center  of  German  intellectual 
life  was  Leipzig,  in  Saxony,  where  the  influence  of  Gottsched  was 
paramount.  This  critic  based  his  reforms  on  French  literary 
standards.  Swiss  scholars,  under  the  leadership  of  Bodmer  and 
influenced  by  English  writers  (particularly  Addison  and  Milton), 
weakened  the  position  of  Gottsched  and  brought  about  a  literary 
controversy  which  attracted  the  attention  of  all  Germany. 

The  Classical  Period 

German  literature  was,  however,  destined  for  better  things  than 
mere  critical  discussions.  Its  greatest  era  was  already  dawning. 
National  feeling  was  quickened  by  the  rise  of  Prussia  and  by 


264  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Frederick  the  Great's  remarkable  feats  in  the  Seven  Years'  War 
( 1 756-1 763).  The  appearance  of  the  first  part  of  Klopstock's 
"Der  Messias"  ("The  Messiah"),  in  1748,  gave  impetus  to  a  lit- 
erary movement  unequaled  in  the  history  of  Germany  and  continu- 
ing, with  its  changes  and  cross-currents  and  with  the  participation 
of  a  bewildering  number  of  writers  in  every  field,  until  the  death 
of  Goethe,  in  1832. 

On  the  political  side  this  period  brought  about  momentous 
changes.  Prussia,  which  had  been  made  a  kingdom  by  Frederick  I 
in  1 70 1,  had  grown  in  power  and  prestige.  Under  Frederick  the 
Great  (who  ruled  from  1740  to  1786)  it  took  a  conspicuous  posi- 
tion among  German  states.  The  effects  of  the  French  Revolution 
and  of  the  Napoleonic  Era  which  followed  involved  by  slow  de- 
grees all  Germany.  In  1804  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  for  a  long 
time  past  of  little  consequence  in  the  affairs  of  Europe,  came  to  an 
end.  Two  years  later  occurred  the  great  disasters  to  Prussian 
arms  at  Auerstadt  and  Jena,  followed  by  humiliation  and  loss  of 
territory.  But  in  18 13  Napoleon,  on  his  return  from  his  Russian 
campaign,  was  decisively  defeated  in  the  battle  of  Leipzig,  and  in 
18 1 5  Germany  played  an  important  part  at  Waterloo.  A  loose 
confederation  was  now  formed  in  Germany,  consisting  of  thirty- 
nine  sovereign  states — Austria  and  Prussia  being  by  far  the  most 
powerful — operating  under  a  new  constitution. 

The  intellectual  currents  of  the  Classical  period  of  German 
literature  are  of  special  interest.  At  the  beginning,  pietism,  a 
revival  of  genuine  religious  feeling  which  concerned  the  heart  rather 
than  the  intellect,  was  much  in  evidence.  The  pietists  were  individ- 
ualistic and  introspective  and  lovers  of  nature.  Klopstock  was  their 
chief  spokesman.  Lessing  and,  to  a  smaller  extent,  Wlnkelmann  were 
early  representatives  of  rationalism,  another  individualistic  move- 
ment, which  succeeded  pietism.  The  rationalists,  related  to  contem- 
porary thinkers  of  the  same  type  in  France  and  England,  insisted 
upon  individual  reason  as  the  sufficient  interpreter  of  life :  they  be- 
lieved what  could  be  proved  ;  they  stood  for  robust  intellectual  free- 
dom. Rationalism  in  Germany  did  not  move  in  the  direction  of  the 
investigation  of  political  rights,  as  in  England,  France,  and  Amer- 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  265 

ica,  but  emphasized  tolerance  in  religion  and  thought,  and  en- 
deavored to  reconcile  reason  with  religion.  Sentimentalism,  as 
exemplified  by  the  Frenchman  Rousseau,  was  the  reaction  to 
rationalism.  Its  headway  in  Germany  was  checked  by  Immanuel 
Kant,  Germany's  foremost  philosophical  thinker,  who  stood  for  a 
sane  rationalism  and  for  personal  responsibility  in  life  and  thought. 
The  influence  of  Herder  is  largely  responsible  for  the  Sturm  und 
Drang,  or  ''Storm  and  Stress,"  movement,  characterized  by  a 
Strongly  nationalistic  feeling,  by  the  overthrow  of  tradition  and 
convention,  and  by  the  extravagance  and  virility  of  youth.  Its 
chief  representative  works  were  Goethe's  "Gotz  von  Berlichingen" 
and  Schiller's  ''Die  Riiuber"  ("The  Robbers").  But  the  move- 
ment expressed  itself  also  in  lyric  poetry.  Here  Klopstock  was 
considered  its  progenitor.  A  band  of  students  issued  at  Gottingen 
the  so-called  M  us  en  almanack,  which  contained  Storm  and  Stress 
poetry,  the  most  conspicuous  being  ballads  by  Biirger,  the  chief 
ballad  poet  of  Germany.  Biirger's  "Lenore"  achieved  great  fame. 
The  Storm  and  Stress  movement  soon  advanced  into  the  period  of 
the  masterly  and  mature  literature  of  the  closing  years  of  the  eight- 
eenth century,  when  Classical  principles  were  generally  accepted. 
With  the  new  century  came  Romanticism,  influential  throughout  all 
western  Europe  and  continuing  in  Germany  until  the  movement 
known  as  "Young  Germany"  supplanted  it  shortly  after  the  death 
of  Goethe. 

Our  study  must  be  confined  largely  to  the  contributions  made  to 
German  literature  during  this  rich  and  varied  period  by  Klopstock, 
Wieland,  Lessing,  Herder,  Kant,  Schiller,  and  Goethe. 

Friedrich  Gottlieb  Klopstock  (i 724-1803)  had  a  long  life  and 
a  long  literary  career.  While  still  a  student  of  theology  at  Jena  he 
finished  in  prose  three  cantos  of  "Der  Messias,"  and  shortly  after- 
wards (1748)  at  Leipzig  he  published  anonymously  this  portion  of 
his  epic,  which  he  had  in  the  meantime  changed  into  hexameter 
verse.  He  lived  for  many  years  in  Copenhagen,  where  he  had  gone 
at  the  invitation  of  the  king  of  Denmark,  and  later  ( 1771-1803)  in 
Hamburg,  where  he  died.  It  was  not  until  1773  that  the  last  canto 
of  "Der  Messias"  appeared.  In  all,  the  epic  contains  twenty  cantos 


266  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

and  about  twenty  thousand  lines.  Milton  is  clearly  Klopstock's 
inspiration.  The  scene  is  laid  on  earth  and  in  heaven  and  hell,  and 
the  theme  has  to  do  with  the  passion,  death,  resurrection,  ascen- 
sion, and  glorification  of  Christ.  Yet  the  narrative  element  is  of  the 
slightest,  for  the  epic  is'in  reality  a  rhythmic  musical  composition, 
the  work  of  a  deeply  religious  poet  gifted  with  imagination  and 
idealism.  Klopstock's  power  diminished  with  his  years ;  and  when 
the  closing  portion  of  his  epic  appeared,  the  phase  which  it  repre- 
sented in  the  literary  life  of  Germany  was  outworn.  In  his  odes 
Klopstock  appeared  to  better  advantage  and  left  on  the  whole  a 
deeper  impression.  These  emotional  and  sincere  poems  broke 
from  the  artificial  standards  which  had  existed  before  his  day,  and 
were  written  in  a  great  variety  of  meters.  Klopstock's  name  was  a 
magical  one,  and  his  poems  exerted  a  profound  influence. 

Christoph  Martin  Wieland  (i 733-1813),  the  son  of  a  Swabian 
clergyman,  was  educated  at  Erfurt  and  later  at  Tiibingen,  where  he 
studied  law.  He  was  greatly  influenced  by  Bodmer,  whom  he  visited 
in  Zurich,  as  did  Klopstock.  His  earlier  moral  and  religious  writ- 
ings, partly  in  prose  and  partly  in  verse,  were  succeeded  by  works 
of  a  very  different  character,  revealing  a  typical  man  of  the  world. 
His  prose  romance  "Don  Sylvio  von  Rosalva"  displays  cynicism 
and  raillery.  "Agathon,"  which  followed,  is  an  early  example  of 
the  psychological  novel ;  it  influenced  Goethe  in  the  development 
of  his  "Wilhelm  Meister."  Wieland  rendered  Germany  great  serv- 
ice by  giving  it  the  first  translations  of  Shakespeare.  He  published 
( 1 762-1 766)  prose  translations  of  twenty-two  of  the  plays.  From 
1772  to  the  close  of  his  life  Wieland  lived  in  Weimar,  as  one  of  the 
distinguished  circle  of  literary  men  who  graced  the  court  of  Karl 
.\ugust.  On  Goethe's  arrival  Wieland  became  his  warm  friend. 
"Oberon,"  a  graceful  and  fantastic  epic  which  mingles  medieval 
romance  and  the  story  of  King  Oberon  and  Queen  Titania  of  fairy- 
land, is  regarded  as  Wieland's  masterpiece,  and  is  the  only  one  of 
his  very  numerous  works  which  is  commonly  read  in  our  own  day. 
Wieland  was  cynical,  witty,  and  light-hearted,  a  gifted  but  not  a 
great  writer. 


GERMAN  LITERATURE 


267 


Gotthold  Ephraim  Lessing  (i 729-1 781),  on  the  other  hand, 
had  undoubted  power  and  was  one  of  the  most  influential  of  Ger- 
man writers  and  thinkers.  A  man  of  high  personal  ideals  and  char- 
acter, Lessing  stood  for  intellectual  freedom  and  exact  scholarship. 
His  criticism  showed  an  enthusiasm  for  Classical  literature,  analyt- 
ical powers  and  originality  of  a  high  order,  an  emancipation  from 
the  slavish  influence  of  French 
criticism  such  as  that  of  Vol- 
taire, and  a  thoroughgoing  ap- 
preciation of  Shakespeare  as  a 
dramatic  artist.  He  was  the  first 
of  Germany's  great  dramatists, 
and  in  his  chief  play  revealed 
the  tolerance  of  German  ration- 
alism at  its  best.  Lessing  was 
born  in  a  small  town  in  Saxony, 
the  son  of  a  clergyman.  His 
scholarly  tastes  were  inherited 
from  generations  of  cultured  men 
and  women.  As  a  student  at 
Leipzig  his  ambition  was  to  be 
a  "German  INIoliere,"  but  his 
earliest  dramatic  pieces  had 
slight  worth.  After  the  comple- 
tion of  his  university  days  at 
Wittenberg,  Lessing  made  his 

home  successively  in  Berlin,  Leipzig,  Breslau,  Hamburg,  and  at 
Wolfenbiittel,  where  for  the  last  eleven  years  of  his  life  he  held  the 
position  of  librarian  of  the  ducal  library. 

Lessing's  most  important  critical  writings  were  his  "Letters  on 
Literature,"  written  in  conjunction  with  two  other  writers  (1758- 
1765),  the  "Laokoon"  (1766),  and  a  series  of  dramatic  criticisms 
appearing  in  Hamburg  during  the  years  1 767-1 769.  In  the  "Lao- 
koon"  he  showed  himself  in  his  critical  theories  somewhat  in  op- 
position to  Winkelniann.    Lessing  endeavored  to  show  the  limits 


GOTTHOLD  EPHRAIM   LESSING 
After  a  painting  by  C.  Jiiger 


268  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

and  functions  of  poetry  and  of  the  other  arts.  The  "Laokoon  "  had 
an  immediate  effect  upon  German  criticism. 
'  The  best  of  Lessing's  early  plays  is  "Miss  Sara  Sampson,"  a  five- 
act  domestic  tragedy.  Much  more  important  are  his  three  later 
plays  "Minna  von  Barnhelm,"  "Emilia  Galotti,"  and  "Nathan  der 
Weise."  The  first  is  a  national  comedy  dealing  with  the  period  suc- 
ceeding the  Seven  Years'  War.  The  hero,  Tellheim,  and  Minna  his 
betrothed,  are  strongly  drawn.  For  the  tragedy  "Emilia  Galotti" 
Lessing  drew  upon  the  Roman  story  of  Virginia.  Though  the  theme 
is  somewhat  remote,  the  play  is  entirely  German  in  spirit  and  is 
still  popular  on  the  stage ;  the  sharply  contrasted  characters  make 
it  notable.  On  the  other  hand,  "Nathan  der  Weise"  is  not  as  a 
play  well-constructed  or  faultless,  though  its  central  motive,  the 
story  of  the  three  rings,  which  Lessing  borrowed  from  Boccaccio, 
renders  it  one  of  the  best-remembered  of  German  plays.  Nathan, 
the  wise  Jew,  is  asked  by  the  jMohammedan  chieftain  Saladin  to 
name  the  true  religion — Christianity,  Judaism,  or  Mohammedanism 
— and  in  reply  tells  the  famous  story  which  inculcates  the  lesson 
that  the  test  of  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  one's  faith  is  found  in 
the  nature  of  the  life  of  its  possessor.  In  this  play  Lessing  was 
combating  the  bigotry  of  his  day  and  was  teaching  a  fine  lesson  in 
tolerance  for  all  time. 

Johann  Gottfried  von  Herder  (i 744-1803),  born  in  East 
Prussia  and  educated  at  the  University  of  Konigsberg,  was  influ- 
enced in  his  youth  by  Kant,  Rousseau,  Shakespeare,  Ossian,  and 
others.  When  as  a  traveling  tutor  he  reached  Strasbourg  in  1770, 
he  proved  to  be  a  man  of  moral  enthusiasm,  inspiring  ideas,  and 
keen  critical  f)ower.  Goethe,  then  a  student  at  Strasbourg,  met  Her- 
der and  gladly  sat  at  his  feet.  Their  meeting  was  an  interesting 
moment  in  the  history  of  German  literature.  Herder  and  Goethe 
presently  issued  "Von  deutscher  Art  und  Kunst,"  a  slender  volume 
which  was  really  the  platform,  or  manifesto,  of  the  Storm  and  Stress 
movement.  Justus  Moser  was  associated  with  them  in  this  enter- 
prise. Herder's  other  writings — his  essays,  his  poems,  and  his 
collection  of  popular  songs — are  not  so  important  as  the  general 
influence  of  the  man  himself.    Herder  had  an  almost  prophetic 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  269 

vision  of  the  future  development  of  literature  and  thought,  and 
had  the  faculty  of  firing  others  with  his  own  original  ideas.  From 
1776  until  his  death  he  lived  in  Weimar  in  an  official  capacity.  On 
his  grave  is  the  motto  ''Light,  Love,  Life." 

Before  considering  the  culmination  of  German  literature  in 
Goethe  and  Schiller,  let  us  bear  in  mind  that  a  bewildering  num- 
ber of  writers  contributed  to  the  luster  of  the  Classical  period — 
poets,  novelists,  scientists,  historians,  critics,  and  philosophers.  Spe- 
cial mention,  at  least,  should  be  made  of  the  poets  Holderlin  and 
Hebel,  and  of  Jean  Paul  Friedrich  Richter,  the  delightful  writer 
of  stories  and  novels.  ''Jean  Paul,"  as  he  was  affectionately  called, 
had  a  great  contemporary  reputation  in  European  literary  circles 
(witness  Carlyle's  praise  of  him),  but  he  is  little  read  in  our  day. 
Kant,  and  to  a  less  extent  his  successor  Fichte,  determined  the  phil- 
osophical thought  of  the  period.  Immanuel  Kant  (i 724-1804) 
possessed  probably  the  finest  philosophical  mind  of  the  modern 
world  and  has  earned  a  place  by  the  side  of  Plato  and  Aristotle. 
This  little  man  with  a  big  head  and  intellect  was  an  East  Prussian, 
and  during  his  eighty  years  of  life  never  traveled  more  than  sixty 
miles  away  from  Konigsberg,  where  he  made  his  home  and  where 
for  many  years  he  was  professor  of  philosophy  in  the  university. 
Schiller  in  his  youth  and  Herder  in  his  maturity  were  deeply  im- 
pressed by  Kant,  and  the  ideas  of  this  great  philosopher  steadied, 
influenced,  and,  indeed,  dominated  all  Germany.  Kant's  early 
writings  were  in  the  field  of  physical  science,  but  his  philosophical 
treatises  were  his  characteristic  work,  and  these  have  been  trans- 
lated into  all  literary  languages.  ''The  Critique  of  Pure  Reason" 
deals  with  theoretical  or  speculative  matters,  ''The  Critique  of 
Practical  Reason"  with  practical  or  ethical  matters,  and  "The 
Critique  of  Judgment"  with  art  and  aesthetics.  iSIodern  meta- 
physics is  based  on  Kant's  philosophy.  His  invigorating  ethical 
system  and  his  insistence  on  the  moral  law  had  a  far-reaching 
effect  in  Germany  and  in  all  intellectual  Europe. 


2  70 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


Friedrich  von  Schiller  (i 759-1805) 

Schiller  makes  a  deep  impression  upon  us  because  of  his  triumph 
over  untoward  circumstances  of  life,  his  mastery  over  himself,  his 
absolute  sincerity  of  heart  and  mind,  his  earnestness  and  high  ideals, 
and  his  remarkable  achievements  in  the  field  of  literature  during 
p  „,.-,, -      ,,-,       his  brief  career.  He  did  not  pos- 

sess the  universality  of  Goethe  or 
:  .  prove  so  great  in  inspiration  and 

intellect,  but  his  place  is  none 
the  less  an  assured  one.  ''Schil- 
ler," says  Carlyle,  ''may  or  may 
not  be  called  a  man  of  genius 
by  his  critics ;  but  his  mind  in 
either  case  will  remain  one  of 
the  most  enviable  which  can 
fall  to  the  share  of  a  mortaL" 
Menzel  writes  of  Schiller,  ''His 
feelings  correspond  to  the  ear- 
liest aspiration  of  the  yet  nn- 
corrupted  youthful  heart,  of  love 
yet  pure,  of  faith  yet  unshaken, 
of  hope  still  warm,  of  the  vigor 
of  young  souls  not  ener\-ated." 
The  following  comments  of  Goethe  make  it  clear  that  Schiller  is 
a  thoroughly  modern  man : 

"Throughout  all  the  works  of  Schiller  there  runs  the  idea  of  liberty, 
and  this  idea  assumed  a  different  form  as  Schiller  advanced  in  culture 
and  became  a  new  man.  In  his  youth  it  was  the  personal  liberty  of  the 
individual  which  occupied  him  in  his  own  life,  and  which  is  expressed 
in  his  works ;  in  his  later  life  it  was  an  ideal  spiritual  liberty." 

Schiller's  birthplace  was  Marbach,  in  Wiirttemberg.  Although 
his  literary  tastes  were  early  disclosed  by  his  reading  of  Klopstock, 
Rousseau,  Shakespeare,  and  the  classics,  his  ardent  spirit  suffered 
restraint  in  the  military  school  in  Wiirttemberg  and  later  in  the 


FRIEDRICH  \0N  SCHILLER 
After  a  painting  by  C.  Jager 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  271 

city  of  Stuttgart,  where,  under  the  patronage  of  the  duke  of  Wiirt- 
temberg,  he  received  his  education.  To  his  military  studies  he  added 
jurisprudence  and  medicine,  and  then  secured  employment  as  regi- 
mental surgeon  in  Stuttgart.  "Die  Riiuber"  ("The  Robbers"), 
his  first  venture  in  the  field  of  literature,  was  published  in  1781. 
Schiller  had  burst  his  fetters.  But  he  found  himself  in  opposition 
to  the  duke,  and  the  next  year  he  left  Stuttgart  secretly.  Then 
began  several  years  of  wandering  and  difficulties,  during  which  he 
struggled  with  ill  health,  debts,  and  manifold  discouragements.  He 
lived  in  Mannheim,  in  Bauerbach,  and  again,  as  theater  poet,  in 
Mannheim.  In  addition  to  "The  Robbers,"  he  produced  the  plays 
"Fiesco"  and  "Kabale  und  Liebe"  ("Cabal  and  Love"),  all  of 
them  written  in  prose.  During  this  early  period  he  also  partially 
supported  himself  as  a  journalist.  Better  days  dawned  in  1785, 
when  as  the  guest  of  Korner  he  went  to  Leipzig  and  later  to 
Dresden.  "Don  Carlos"  was  finished  in  1787  ;  this  and  all  his  suc- 
ceeding plays  were  written  in  verse.  His  circumstances  improved 
and  his  interests  widened.  In  1787  he  removed  to  Weimar.  There 
and  in  the  neighboring  university  town  of  Jena  he  made  his  home 
until  his  death.  In  this  congenial  atmosphere,  happily  married, 
surrounded  by  friends,  Schiller  wrote  his  historical  and  aesthetic 
works,  the  noblest  of  his  poems,  and  the  greatest  of  his  plays.  From 
1794  to  the  close  of  his  life  he  lived  on  terms  of  special  intimacy 
with  (}oethe.  The  monument  at  Weimar  to  the  memory  of  these 
two  chief  writers  of  Ciermany  pays  lasting  tribute  to  one  of  the 
most  inspiring  of  friendships. 

Of  the  early  dramas  of  Schiller  "The  Robbers  "  makes  the  strong- 
est appeal.  It  is  afire  with  emotional  intensity  and  the  impetuosity 
of  youth.  Extravagant  and  juvenile  though  it  may  be, — Schiller 
was  only  nineteen  years  of  age  when  he  developed  it, — it  dis- 
plays real  dramatic  instinct  and  reflects  perfectly  the  current 
impulses  of  the  period  which  produced  it.  This  is  proved  by  the 
immense  enthusiasm  with  which  the  play  was  received  in  Germany, 
and,  indeed,  throughout  Europe.  By  the  time  Schiller  wrote  "  Don 
Carlos"  in  its  finished  form,  he  had  definitely  passed  the  crudity  of 
his  earlier  period.    Its  maturity  and  its  ingenious  plot  make  this 


2  72  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

clear.  The  play  is  concerned  with  the  tragic  difficulties  of  Don 
Carlos  of  Spain,  condemned  to  death  by  his  father  the  king. 

Schiller's  attention  was  taken  up  for  several  years  after  this  early 
period  with  journalism,  history,  and  philosophy.  His  ''Revolt  of 
the  Netherlands"  earned  for  him  a  place  among  historians  and  a 
position,  secured  through  the  help  of  Goethe,  as  professor  of  his- 
tory at  the  University  of  Jena.  Then  followed  the  ''History  of  the 
Thirty  Years'  War."  Schiller's  historical  method  was  not  that  with 
which  we  are  familiar  in  our  day,  for  he  was  not  primarily  an  in- 
vestigator or  a  scientific  historian  but  a  stylist  and  literary  artist, 
painting  striking  pictures  and  portraying  large  historical  movements. 
In  his  philosophical  writings  Schiller  built  upon  the  ideas  of  Kant 
in  the  field  of  moral  duty  and  in  the  fields  of  aesthetics  and  poetic 
art.  It  should  be  noted  also  that  there  is  a  philosophical  basis  in  all 
of  Schiller's  mature  poetry  and  drama.  The  ballads  which  he  wrote 
with  such  fine  poetic  inspiration  were  designed  to  present  moral 
issues,  being  concerned  with  such  ideas  as  those  of  self-mastery, 
justice,  and  the  fear  of  God.  iMany  of  his  poems  are  famous,  nota- 
bly "Das  Lied  von  der  Glocke"  ("The  Song  of  the  Bell"),  of 
which  there  have  been  many  translations  into  English. 

Schiller's  position  as  Germany's  representative  dramatist  is  based 
upon  the  splendid  series  of  plays  of  his  last  years.  In '"  Wallenstein" 
( 1 798-1 799)  he  takes  for  his  subject  a  great  figure  from  the  Thirty 
Years'  War.  but  his  theme  is  essentially  that  of  Greek  tragedy,  pre- 
senting a  human  soul  foredoomed  by  the  Fates.  It  is  in  three  parts ; 
in  reality,  however,  it  is  one  long  play  of  ten  acts.  Schiller  draws 
upon  English  history  for  his  next  drama,  "Maria  Stuart"  (1800), 
but  the  material  is  not  altogether  true  to  fact,  and  the  play  lacks 
dramatic  intensity.  On  the  other  hand,  it  has  proved  a  general 
favorite  owing  to  the  pathetic  figure  of  the  heroine  and  to  her  moral 
strength  as  the  tragic  moment  approaches.  "Die  Jungfrau  von 
Orleans"  ("The  Maid  of  Orleans")  (i8oi),"a  romantic  tragedy," 
to  use  Schiller's  term,  presents  a  heroic  character  in  idealized  guise, 
with  history  changed  in  such  a  way  as  to  exhibit  powerfully  the 
author's  ethical  purposes.  It  is  well  unified  and  highly  poetic  and 
artistic.  Schiller  was  less  successful  in  his  next  play,  "Die  Braut 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  273 

von  Messina"  (1802-1803),  a  play  purely  Greek  in  its  dramatic 
form.  But  he  surpassed  himself  in  his  latest  completed  drama, 
"Wilhelm  Tell"  (1804),  exhibiting  the  very  incarnation  of  the 
spirit  that  loves  freedom  and  hates  tyranny.  It  makes  to  this 
day  a  strong  patriotic  appeal  and  will  doubtless  always  be  reck- 
oned as  Schiller's  masterpiece.  In  the  year  following  the  ap- 
pearance of  ''Wilhelm  Tell,"  the  fragile  life  of  Schiller  came  to  an 
end.  That  life,  studied  in  detail,  is  an  inspiration.  Carlyle's  biog- 
raphy of  Schiller  should  be  widely  read.  We  draw  from  Carlyle  the 
following  delineation  of  the  poet's  power : 

"Perhaps  his  greatest  faculty  was  a  half-poetical,  half-philosophical 
imagination :  a  faculty  teeming  with  magnificence  and  brilliancy ;  now 
adorning,  or  aiding  to  erect,  a  stately  pyramid  of  scientific  speculation; 
now  brooding  over  the  abysses  of  thought  and  feeling,  till  thoughts  and 
feelings,  else  unutterable,  were  embodied  in  expressive  forms,  and  pal- 
aces and  landscapes  glowing  in  ethereal  beauty  rose  like  exhalations  from 
the  bosom  of  the  deep." 

JoHANN  Wolfgang  von  Goethe  (i 749-1 832) 

The  authors  of  the  Iliad,  the  "Divine  Comedy."  and  "Hamlet" 
have  left  us  slight  record  of  the  outward  events  of  their  lives,  but 
the  biography  of  the  author  of  "Faust"  is  extraordinarily  full. 
Goethe's  "Die  Leiden  des  jungen  Werthers"  ("The  Sorrows  of 
Werther")  and  "Wilhelm  Meister"  are  largely  autobiographical; 
"Faust"  is  self-revealing;  "Dichtung  und  Wahrheit"  is  a  definite 
account  of  Goethe's  earlier  years  written  by  himself  ;  while  the 
"Correspondence  with  Schiller,"  "Convei;sations  with  Eckermann," 
and  other  volumes  disclose  with  great  particularity  the  history  of 
his  later  years.  Furthermore,  biographies  of  Goethe  have  been 
very  numerous.  Lewes's  "Life  of  Goethe,"  though  the  first  edi- 
tion appeared  as  long  ago  as  1855,  is  still  considered  an  impor- 
tant volume — one  of  the  most  stimulating  and  fascinating  of  all 
biographies.  Bielschowsky's  "Life  of  Goethe"  (translated  1905- 
1908)  is  one  of  the  best  of  the  more  recent  works.  The  reader  of 
this  amazingly  interesting  biographical  material  will  gain  an  im- 


274  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

pression  of  the  dynamic  power,  unceasing  industry,  versatility,  hu- 
manity, and  genius  of  Goethe  that  nothing  can  ever  efface.  ''Since 
this  morning,"  said  the  poet  Wieland  when  he  first  met  Goethe  on 
the  arrival  of  the  latter  at  Weimar  in  1775,  ''my  soul  has  been  as 
full  of  Goethe  as  a  dewdrop  of  the  morning  sun."  Not  dissimilar 
is  the  effect  conveyed  even  at  this  distant  day  as  we  come  into  con- 
tact with  Goethe's  striking  personality. 

Goethe  was  born  of  a  well-to-do  family  in  Frankfort-on-Main, 
August  28,  1749.  His  father's  coldly  intellectual  and  irascible  char- 
acter was  offset  by  the  warm  heart  and  cheerful  nature  of  his  mother 
and  by  the  sympathetic  understanding  of  his  sister  Cornelia.  Wolf- 
gang himself,  passionate,  quick  of  apprehension,  and  original,  even 
as  a  boy  showed  great  promise.  His  studies  included  Hebrew  and 
Latin,  the  rudiments  of  painting,  and  a  great  variety  of  dramatic 
reading  taken  in  connection  with  the  operation  of  a  puppet  theater 
of  his  own.  During  the  period  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  the  boy  ac- 
quired a  knowledge  of  French  through  a  French  officer  who  was 
quartered  at  his  father's  house.  At  Leipzig,  where  he  went  in  1765, 
he  studied  jurisprudence  and  art,  and  in  literature  was  influenced 
chiefly  by  Lessing,  Wieland,  and  Klopstock.  Here  he  had  also  a 
passionate  love  affair.  After  an  interval  at  home,  where  he  learned 
much  from  the  spiritual  nature  of  Fraulein  von  Klettenberg  (the 
original  of  the  study  of  a  "beautiful  soul"  given  in  later  years  in 
"Wilhelm  IMeister"),  Goethe  went  in  1770  to  Strasbourg  to  com- 
plete his  law  course.  His  Strasbourg  experiences  influenced  him 
deeply — his  legal  and  medical  studies ;  his  reading  of  Shakespeare, 
Ossian,  and  Homer ;  his  contact  with  Herder,  five  years  his  senior, 
and  their  common  contributions  to  the  Storm  and  Stress  movement ; 
most  of  all,  his  love  for  Friederike  Brion,  the  pastor's  daughter  at 
Sesenheim,  the  most  beautiful  and  unaffected  and  lovable  of  all  the 
women  concerned  with  Goethe's  life.  Goethe's  own  description  of 
Friederike  in  his  autobiography,  and  of  the  breaking-off  of  his 
friendship  with  her  at  the  close  of  that  eventful  year,  can  hardly 
be  surpassed.  Friederike's  character  seems  to  be  reflected  in  other 
portions  of  the  poet's  writings,  particularly  in  the  characterization 
of  Gretchen  in  "Faust." 


GERMAN  LITERATURE 


275 


Goethe  had  now  ( 1 77 1 )  secured  his  doctor's  degree  and  soon  left 
Frankfort  for  Wetzlar,  where  he  spent  six  months  as  jurist  and 
advocate.  His  hopeless  love  during  that  period  for  Charlotte  Buff, 
engaged  to  his  friend  Kestner,  he  presently  immortalized  in  the 
scarcely  disguised  autobiographical  work,  ''The  Sorrows  of  Werther." 
For  three  years  (1772- 
1775)  Goethe  now  lived  at 
Frankfort  as  advocate  and 
man  of  letters.  In  1773  ap- 
peared ''Gotz  von  Berli- 
chingen,"  not  the  earliest 
of  his  writings  but  the  first 
to  establish  his  fame.  It  is 
a  loose  historical  drama  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  much 
stronger  in  its  character 
study  and  in  the  unre- 
strained vigor  of  its  lan- 
guage than  in  its  plot 
structure.  Shakespeare  in- 
fluenced him  in  this  trag- 
edy, while  the  prose  tale 
which  appeared  the  fol- 
lowing year,  "The  Sorrows 
of  Werther,"  reminds  us  of 
the  French   sentimentalist 

Rousseau.  All  Germany  wept  over  the  sad  fortunes  of  young 
Werther  and  took  a  deep  interest  in  his  sensitive  and  lovable 
nature,  his  hopeless  love  for  Lotte,  and  his  tragic  death.  The  work 
had  an  enormous  popularity  in  its  day  throughout  all  Europe,  and 
it  is  still  read  for  the  beauty  of  its  style  and  sentiments,  though  it 
represents  a  phase  of  literature  long  past.  The  plays  "Clavigo" 
and  "Stella,"  belonging  to  the  same  period,  are  less  important. 

In  1775,  when  Goethe  had  reached  his  twenty-sixth  year,  oc- 
curred a  momentous  change  in  his  life.  Accepting  the  invitation  of 
Duke  Karl  August,  he  visited  him  at  his  court  in  Weimar.    During 


JOHANN  WOLFGANG  GOETHE 


2  76  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

the  preceding  year  he  had  been  engaged  to  Anna  Elizabeth  Schone- 
mann  (the  "LiH"  of  his  lyrics),  but,  largely  at  the  instance  of  her 
family,  this  engagement  was  broken  off.  Goethe  went  gladly  to 
Weimar ;  he  could  hardly  have  foreseen,  however,  that  here  he  was 
to  make  his  home  until  the  close  of  his  life.  Weimar  at  the  time  of 
Goethe's  arrival  was  an  inconspicuous  town  of  six  thousand  inhabi- 
tants, with  few  natural  advantages.  However,  in  Anna  Amalia,  the 
mother  of  the  duke,  and  in  Karl  August,  who  became  ruler  of  the 
duchy  in  1775,  Weimar  possessed  two  very  remarkable  personali- 
ties. Karl  August's  native  endowments  and  his  poetic  temperament 
and  graces  gave  him  in  time  a  place  of  leadership  among  the  Ger- 
man princes  of  his  day  second  only  to  that  of  Frederick  II  himself. 
Weimar  became  the  center  of  intellectual  Germany,  for  it  was  asso- 
ciated with  the  leaders  of  the  Classical  period,  with  Wieland  and 
Herder,  with  the  good  Schiller  and  the  great  Goethe. 

In  those  early  Weimar  years  Goethe  was  first  of  all  the  friend  of 
Karl  August,  The  two  young  men  exhibited  all  the  enthusiasm  and 
extravagance  of  youth.  Then,  settling  down  to  the  more  serious 
duties  of  government,  the  duke  utilized  Goethe's  talents  in  various 
ways.  In  due  time  he  ennobled  him  and  made  him  president  of  the 
ducal  chamber.  Of  more  interest  to  us  is  the  fact  that  for  a  series 
of  years  he  held  the  directorship  of  the  ducal  theater,  a  position 
which  gave  him  the  opportunity  to  develop  his  theories  of  art. 
Goethe's  ardent  emotional  nature  found  outlet  in  his  friendship  for 
Charlotte  von  Stein,  \vife  of  the  duke's  ^Master  of  Horse.  She  was 
his  senior  by  several  years  and  a  woman  of  culture  and  forceful- 
ness.  A  deep  friendship  based  on  intellectual  sympathy  rather 
than  passionate  love  was  the  essence  of  their  relationship.  Two- 
years  (i 786-1 788)  of  the  greatest  importance  in  Goethe's  life 
were  spent  in  Italy,  where  he  thoroughly  revised  his  theories  of  art 
and  life.  "Iphigenie,"  "Egmont,"  and  "Torquato  Tasso"  dis- 
played his  magnificent  powers  during  the  years  that  immediately 
followed.  On  his  return  from  Italy  he  contracted  a  relationship 
with  Christiane  Vulpius,  whom  he  married  in  1806. 

Another  period  in  Goethe's  life  began  with  his  friendship  for 
Schiller  in  1794.  These  two  poets  inspired  each  other  in  their  finest 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  277 

work.  The  first  part  of  "Wilhelm  Meister"  appeared  in  1796;  it 
had  been  begun  nineteen  years  earher.  "Hermann  und  Dorothea," 
a  narrative  poem,  or  small  epic,  of  middle-class  life,  ranking  very 
high  among  Goethe's  writings,  belongs  to  the  same  period.  The 
poet's  versatility  is  shown  in  the  great  variety  of  his  writings,  in- 
cluding brilliant  scientific  researches  prophetic  of  the  work  of  the 
scientists  of  the  new  century. 

The  closing  period  saw  the  appearance  of  "  Dichtung  und  Wahr- 
heit,"  the  issuance  of  the  second  part  of  "Wilhelm  Meister,"  and 
the  publication  of  the  "Italienische  Reise"  ("Italian  Journey") 
and  a  number  of  other  literary  and  scientific  writings.  Most  im- 
portant of  all  was  the  completion  of  "  Faust,"  which  had  been  in 
a  sense  his  chief  work  for  sixty  years,  and  which  was  finished  only 
eight  months  before  his  death. 

It  is  manifest  that  in  our  narrow  confines  we  can  give  only  brief 
attention  to  Goethe's  chief  works  and  must  pass  by  altogether 
his  exceedingly  rich  lyric  poetry  and  other  important  writings.  Let 
us  speak  first  of  a  few  of  his  greater  plays.  "Egmont"  was  pro- 
jected while  Goethe  was  still  in  Frankfort,  but  did  not  appear  until 
more  than  ten  years  later.  The  central  figure  of  this  historical 
tragedy  was  the  leader  of  the  Dutch  people  in  their  struggle  for 
liberty  against  Philip  II  of  Spain.  Goethe's  purpose,  however,  was 
not  so  much  to  present  historical  episodes  as  to  draw  powerfully 
and  attractively  the  character  of  Egmont,  his  greatness  in  the  midst 
of  difficulties,  and  his  love  for  Kliirchen,  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
of  the  women  of  Goethe.  In  "Iphigenie  auf  Tauris"  and  in  "Tor- 
quato  Tasso"  we  see  exhibited  Goethe's  overmastering  affection  for 
classic  art  and  literature.  The  former  play  had  been  sketched  sev- 
eral years  before  he  went  to  Italy,  but  was  recast,  written  in  verse 
in  Rome,  and  published  in  1786.  Euripides'  tragedy  is  its  basis,  but 
the  material  has  been  reshaped  to  conform  to  the  psychology  of 
our  modern  world.  The  character  of  Iphigenia  seems  to  be  greater, 
more  noble,  and  more  pure  than  in  the  Greek  play.  A  careful  study 
of  the  two  plays — the  ancient  and  the  modern — dealing  with  the 
same  theme  is  of  extraordinary  interest.  "Torquato  Tasso,''  like 
"Iphigenie,"  was  written  originally  in  prose.    Not  until  1790,  ten 


2  78  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

years  later,  did  it  appear  in  its  puetic  form.  The  circumstances  of 
Tasso's  life  are  already  familiar  to  us.  Goethe's  play  opens  with 
the  period  when  the  poet  has  just  been  given  a  laurel  wreath  upon 
the  completion  of  his  masterpiece.  It  portrays  his  suspicious  and 
sensitive  nature,  his  falling  out  with  his  patrons,  the  rejection  of 
his  love,  and  his  banishment  from  the  court  of  Ferrara.  There  is 
little  action.  It  is  a  play  of  introspection,  inner  conflict,  and  dis- 
illusionment, and  has  been  well  described  as  the  tragedy  of  genius. 
While  very  faulty  as  a  play,  it  contains  some  of  Goethe's  most  won- 
derful poetry. 

"Wilhelm  Meister"  is  one  of  the  greatest  prose  works  of  German 
literature,  and  it  just  misses,  through  its  prolixity  and  its  uneven 
inspiration,  being  one  of  the  chief  novels  of  Europe.  The  first  part 
was  nineteen  years  in  the  making  (i 777-1 796),  and  the  second 
part  is  the  work  of  Goethe's  old  age.  Reading  it  in  Carlyle's  elo- 
quent translation,  we  are  rewarded  by  scenes  and  passages  rarely 
equaled  in  any  prose  work.  The  author's  wisdom,  philosophy  of 
life,  ideas  of  art,  and  political  and  religious  creed  stand  revealed. 
Wilhelm  suggests  again  and  again  Goethe  himself.  In  the  first  part 
we  see  him  during  the  period  of  his  apprenticeship,  advancing  from 
careless  youth  to  a  serious  attitude  toward  life  and  its  reponsibili- 
ties.  The  glimpses  of  Marianne,  of  Philine,  of  the  Countess,  of 
Natalie,  and,  above  all,  of  the  Harper  and  Mignon  (one  of  the  great- 
est creations  in  imaginative  literature)  are  all  engaging.  Goethe's 
shrewd  criticisms  of  "Hamlet,"  as  introduced  in  this  part,  have  in 
themselves  rendered  the  work  famous.  The  second  part,  dealing 
with  Wilhelm's  travels,  possesses  less  interest,  though  Carlyle's 
praise  of  its  high  art,  and  especially  of  its  inculcation  of  the  idea 
of  reverence  in  youth,  is  well  justified. 

Goethe's  "  Faust,"  like  the  Homeric  epics,  the  " Divine  Comedy," 
("Don  Quixote,"  and  the  plays  of  Shakespeare,  belongs  with  the 
supreme  books  of  the  world.  It  should  be  universally  known ;  it  is 
not  enough  to  read  about  it  or  to  read  analyses  of  it.  The  work 
itself  in  the  original,  or  in  Bayard  Taylor's  English  translation 
in  the  original  meters,  offers  an  inspiring  literary  study.  Add 
to  this  such  an  interpretative  work  as  Davidson's  ''Philosophy 


ger:\iax  literature 


279 


of  Goethe's  Faust"  or  the  detailed  study  presented  in  the  third 
volume  of  Bielschowsky's  "Life  of  Goethe."  In  the  first  place,  it 
will  be  found  that  Faust  is  the  mirror  of  Goethe's  own  life  and 
aspirations,  the  perfect  expression  of  his  personality  and  his  life 


FAUST 

After  the  paintinp  by  C.  Geyer 

philosophy.  It  reflects  Goethe's  interest  in  medievalism  with  its 
magic  and  alchemy,  his  literary  phases, — Storm  and  Stress,  Classi- 
cism, Romanticism, — his  philosophical  pursuits  and  scientific 
studies,  his  intellectual  and  moral  freedom.  Some  of  the  characters 
of  this  great  drama  of  the  soul  suggest  Goethe's  own  friends  and 


28o  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

associates  and  other  men  of  his  period, —  for  instance,  Lord  Byron, 
who  had  made  a  deep  impression  on  Goethe.  Faust  himself  in  his 
upward  strivings  is  Goethe,  and,  as  in  the  poet's  own  case,  Faust's 
weaknesses  are  not  so  significant  as  his  strength  of  mind  and  heart 
and  faith. 

As  a  boy  Goethe  was  familiar  with  the  Faust  legend.  He  had 
seen  the  rude  puppet  play,  and  he  knew  the  first  printed  version,  of 
1587,  and  the  English  play  of  Christopher  Marlowe,  first  acted  in 
1593.  The  legend  dealt  with  Dr.  Johann  Faust's  interest  in  magic 
and  the  unseen  world,  his  infidelity,  his  league  with  the  Devil,  his 
varied  experiences  and  pranks,  and  the  passing  of  his  soul  to  perdi- 
tion when  the  twenty-four  years'  compact  was  closed.  It  had  been 
elaborated  many  times  before  Goethe's  day,  but  was  now  to  be 
transformed  into  a  universal  human  drama.  As  a  youth  just  re- 
turned from  Leipzig  Goethe  was  already  working  on  his  material ; 
he  carried  the  early  manuscript  to  Strasbourg ;  he  read  portions  to 
Klopstock  at  Frankfort  in  1 774 ;  he  took  the  work  with  him  to  Wei- 
mar the  next  year  and  probably  by  this  time  had  the  outline  of  the 
whole  drama  pretty  well  shaped  in  his  mind ;  he  carried  the  now 
yellow  manuscript  to  Italy  and  added  new  material  there.  It  was 
not  until  1790  that  any  portion  was  published,  and  this  was  only 
"A  Fragment."  Goethe's  friendship  with  Schiller  advanced  the 
work  appreciably  and  added  to  its  philosophical  content.  In  1808 
the  First  Part,  including  the  fragment  of  1790,  appeared;  in  1827, 
the  Helena  episode  ;  and  finally,  in  1832,  after  the  poet's  death,  the 
entire  Second  Part,  with  the  Helena  episode  as  the  third  act. 

In  form  ''Faust"  consists  in  its  First  Part  of  twenty-five  scenes, 
preceded  by  a  Dedication,  a  Prelude  on  the  Stage,  and  a  Prologue 
in  Heaven.  More  than  half  of  the  scenes  deal  with  the  tragic  and 
affecting  Gretchen  episode.  The  Second  Part  also  includes  twenty- 
five  scenes,  divided  into  five  acts.  The  whole  is  written  in  verse,  of 
varying  meters  and  character — monologue,  dialogue,  and  lyric. 

The  underlying  meaning,  or  symbolism,  in  such  a  work  as  this  is 
always  of  interest.  Goethe  himself  tells  us  that  a  large  part  of  the 
drama  was  subjectively  written,  that  Mephistopheles  and  Faust 
were  the  opposite  poles  of  his  own  character,  and  that  his  riper  na- 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  281 

ture,  his  aesthetic  and  religious  feehng,  are  expressed  largely  in  the 
Second  Part.  He  says  of  the  whole,  ""It  permanently  preserves 
the  period  of  development  of  a  human  soul,  which  is  tormented  by 
all  that  afflicts  mankind,  shaken  also  by  all  that  disturbs  it,  re- 
pelled by  all  that  it  finds  repellent,  and  made  happy  by  all  that  it 
desires."  The  Faust  story  is  essentially  Germanic,  coming  from 
Reformation  and  Renaissance  times — the  times  when  the  human 
spirit  was  shaking  itself  free  from  institutions  and  was  striving  for 
power  and  illumination.  But  Goethe  added  much :  the  aspirations, 
spirituality,  and  philosophy  of  his  own  century,  the  interests  and 
enthusiasms  of  his  own  rich  nature. 

The  Prologue  in  Heaven  suggests  at  once  the  Book  of  Job,  but  in 
"Faust"  Mephistopheles  is  the  spirit  of  evil,  not  the  testing  spirit. 
God  allows  Faust  to  be  tempted.  '"Man  errs,"  he  says,  "as  long 
as  he  aspires."  "A  good  man  in  his  dark  impulse  is  still  conscious 
of  the  right  way."  As  the  drama  opens,  the  learned  Faust  is  repre- 
sented as  thoroughly  dissatisfied  with  life.  He  is  saved  from  self- 
destruction,  but  his  self-control  is  weakened  and  he  is  ready  for  new 
experiences,  which  are  soon  promised  by  Mephistopheles.  The  con- 
tract is  that  if  the  latter  can  destroy  Faust's  strivings  and  ambitions 
and  give  him  complete  satisfaction,  even  for  a  moment,  his  soul  will 
belong  to  Mephistopheles.  The  evil  spirit  has  a  much  more  difficult 
task  than  he  could  possibly  foresee :  he  cannot  apprehend  the  depth 
of  Faust's  spiritual  nature.  In  the  meantime  he  gives  Faust  a  taste 
of  life — the  crude  revelry  of  Auerbach's  Cellar,  the  wild  orgies  of 
the  Brocken.  The  innocent  Gretchen,  over  whom  Mephistopheles 
has  little  control,  now  crosses  Faust's  path.  The  infatuation  of 
Faust  and  Gretchen  is  mutual,  and  by  slow  degrees  Faust  loses  his 
self-command,  bringing  about  a  deeply  tragic  situation :  the  ruin  of 
Gretchen,  the  death  of  her  mother,  the  loss  of  her  brother  by 
P^aust's  own  hand,  and  the  final  execution  of  the  hapless  maid  for 
the  murder  of  her  child, — all  set  forth  in  scenes  scarcely  equaled 
in  the  whole  range  of  literature.  Gretchen  emerges  from  these  tre- 
mendous life  experiences  pardoned  and  redeemed  ;  but  Faust,  puz- 
zled, disillusioned,  weak,  goes  for  the  moment  the  other  way  with 
Mephistopheles. 


282  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

In  the  Second  Part  we  find  Faust  struggling  out  of  his  narrow 
subjective  self  into  the  larger  world  of  humanity ;  he  is  becoming  a 
representative  man,  seeking  the  highest  existence.  We  cannot  fol- 
low him  in  detail  through  his  somewhat  unheroic  experiences  at 
the  Imperial  Court,  with  the  conjuring  up  of  the  spirits  of  Paris 
and  Helena.  Subsequently,  by  means  of  Homunculus,  he  is  able 
himself  to  enter  the  Greek  world  and  to  join  romantic  Germany 
with  classic  Greece.  Euphorion,  the  inspired  genius  who  is  the  fruit 
of  the  union  of  Faust  and  Helena,  wrecks  himself  through  too  high 
ideals.  Faust,  back  in  his  own  land,  now  seeks,  because  of  his 
enlarged  vision,  a  new  life — a  life  of  activity  and  usefulness. 
Though  frustrated  repeatedly  by  the  evil  machinations  of  IVIephis- 
topheles,  there  comes  a  time  when  Faust,  now  aged  and  sightless, 
has  a  vision  of  his  goal  and  finds  at  last  the  moment  of  deepest 
satisfaction  come  to  him  in  the  prospect  of  the  well-being  of 
humanity  through  his  own  acts  of  beneficence.  Mephistopheles 
claims  his  soul,  but  Faust  has  secured  redemption.  The  angels  sing: 

"Whoe'er  aspires  unweariedly 
Is  not  beyond  redeeming. 
And  if  he  feels  the  grace  of  love 
That  from  On  High  is  given, 
The  Blessed  Hosts,  that  wait  above, 
Shall  welcome  him  to  Heaven  !  "^ 

Romanticism 

Before  the  close  of  Goethe's  life  a  new  movement  in  literature, 
which  we  term  Romanticism,  had  come  and  had  spent  its  force. 
It  was  connected  with  the  similar  movement  in  the  other  countries 
of  western  Europe.  In  Germany  it  represented,  to  use  Professor 
Robertson's  words,  "an  attempt  to  create  a  harmony  of  intellect 
and  heart,  of  life  and  art,  on  the  basis  of  individualism."  On  our 
restricted  canvas  its  various  phases  cannot  be  shown ;  only  a  few  of 
its  leading  representatives  can  be  mentioned  briefly.  As  the  nine- 
teenth century  opened,  four  influential  men  were  laying  down  the 
principles  of  the  movement  and  were  writing  in  its  spirit.  These 
1  Translation  by  Bayard  Taylor. 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  283 

were  Ludwig  Tieck,  novelist,  dramatist,  essayist,  and  critic ;  the 
youthful  Hardenberg  ("Xovalis"),  who  possessed  an  exquisite  lyric 
gift ;  and  the  brothers  August  W.  and  Friedrich  Schlegel,  influential 
critics.  August  Schlegel's  translation  of  Shakespeare  was  his  chief 
gift  to  the  German  people.  His  "Lectures  on  Dramatic  Art  and 
Literature"  is  still  an  important  work  of  criticism  after  the  lapse  of 
over  a  hundred  years. 

The  names  of  Brentano,  Arnim,  and  the  brothers  Grimm  are  as- 
sociated with  an  interesting  Heidelberg  group  of  men  who  rendered 
a  great  service  in  collecting  folk  songs  and  fairy  tales.  To  the  same 
period  belong  Adelbert  von  Chamisso,  a  Frenchman  who  is  esteemed 
for  his  graceful  German  lyrics  and  ballads  and  his  fanciful  tale  of 
"Peter  Schlemihl"  ;  and  the  Silesian  Joseph  von  Eichendorff  (1788- 
1857),  a  man  of  remarkable  lyric  gifts,  the  poet  of  the  German 
forest.  In  the  field  of  the  drama  the  Romantic  period  is  dominated 
by  Heinrich  von  Kleist,  soldier,  professor,  journalist,  novelist,  and 
dramatist,  whose  brief  career  was  ended  by  his  own  act  in  181 1. 
His  plays  showed  a  constant  increase  in  power,  simplicity,  and  real- 
ity; and  the  last  of  these,  the  patriotic  drama  "Prinz  Friedrich 
von  Homburg,"  written  in  18 10,  ranks  among  the  great  plays  of 
Germany.  Hoffmann  (i 776-1822),  the  writer  of  grotesque  and 
morbid  tales,  was  a  master  of  prose  fiction  who  earned  a  consider- 
able reputation  both  in  Germany  and  France. 

Among  later  Romanticists  we  can  but  mention  the  poets  RUckert 
and  Platen  and  the  novelists  Hauff  and  Immerman.  Let  us  pause 
for  a  moment,  however,  to  consider  Uhland  and  Grillparzer.  Ludwig 
Uhland  (i  787-1862)  was  a  Swabian — a  professor,  philologist,  poli- 
tician, and  writer.  In  the  field  of  literature  he  is  remembered,  chiefly 
for  his  popular  ballad  poetry,  the  outcome  of  his  studies  in  the  folk 
poetry  and  saga  material  of  Germany.  Franz  Grillparzer  (1791- 
1872),  Austria's  greatest  dramatist,  has  only  recently  come  to  be 
valued  at  his  true  worth.  His  themes  were  sometimes  classic,  as  in 
"Sappho"  and  in  his  plays  dealing  with  Jason  and  ^ledea  and 
with  Hero  and  Leander ;  and  sometimes  they  entered  the  field  of 
historical  drama.  His  work  is  characterized  by  poetic  power  and 
feeling  and  by  fine  character  development. 


284 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


Heinrich  Heine  ( 1 797-1856)  belongs  both  to  the  Romantic  and 
to  the  succeeding  period.  He  was  born  at  Dusseldorf,  of  Jewish 
parentage,  but  in  early  manhood  for  practical  reasons  embraced 
Christianity.  At  the  University  of  Bonn  Heine  came  under  the 
influence  and  received  the  encouragement  of  A.  W.  Schlegel ;  later, 
at  Berlin,  he  learned  much  from  the  philosopher  Hegel.  His  visit  to 

the  Harz  Mountains  was  brilliantly 
/  -     ;  .;  A    ^  described  in  "  Die  Harzreise,"  pub- 

'*  lished  in  1826.    Heine  had  become 

known  before  this  as  a  writer  of 
poetry,  and  by  the  publication  of 
a  collection  of  poems,  the  "Buch 
der  Lieder,"  in  1827,  became  the 
most  popular  of  German  poets.  He 
traveled  in  England,  did  editorial 
work  in  Munich,  made  a  trip  to 
Italy,  lived  for  a  period  in  Berlin 
and  Hamburg,  and  finally,  troubled 
by  the  failure  of  the  1830  revolu- 
tion and  the  continued  unfortunate 
political  condition  of  Germany, 
went  to  Paris  in  1831.  There  he 
made  his  home  thenceforth,  sup- 
porting himself  mainly  by  journal- 
ism. Several  collections  of  his 
writings  were  made  before  he  died.  There  were  many  contradic- 
tions in  his  nature.  He  was  witty,  pessimistic,  bitterly  cynical, 
skeptical,  sentimental,  a  lover  of  France  and  Germany  alike,  and 
neither  strongly  Jewish  nor  strongly  Christian.  His  varying  moods 
are  reflected  in  his  poems.  It  seems  clear  that  Heine  is  the  chief 
German  lyric  poet  since  Goethe.  He  appreciated  deeply  both  the 
sea  and  the  inland  country,  and  his  lyrics  contain  much  symbolism 
based  upon  nature.  His  love  poems  are  tender  and  poignant.  Few 
men  have  ever  written  such  melodious  verse.  As  a  prose  writer  he 
was  scarcely  less  gifted.  Hence  he  has  always  had  many  admirers 
in  France,  England,  and  America,  as  well  as  in  Germany. 


HEINRICH    HEINE 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  285 

The  Modern  Period 

The  later  history  of  German  literature  is  extraordinarily  complex, 
for  the  number  of  German  writers  since  1830  has  been  legion,  as  the 
reader  may  discover  by  referring  to  any  compendium  of  literature, 
or  as  will  be  quite  evident  to  him  if  he  will  recall  the  German 
novelists  and  short-story  writers,  dramatists,  poets,  critics,  his- 
torians, and  philosophers  of  the  modern  period.  However,  there 
has  not  emerged  in  Germany  a  Dickens,  a  Balzac,  a  Tolstoy,  or  a 
Maupassant,  a  Sainte-Beuve,  or  an  Ibsen;  and  it  is  not  therefore 
our  purpose  to  devote  more  than  passing  attention  to  the  later  litera- 
ture, even  though  in  amount  and  in  its  average  quality  it  is  un- 
deniably impressive,  and  though  it  has  had  much  influence  upon 
the  other  literatures  of  recent  times. 

During  the  two  decades  following  1830  the  strong  nationalist 
feeling  in  Germany  was  reflected  in  the  "Young  Germany"  move- 
ment. The  impulse  of  its  representatives  was  political,  and  the 
hope  was  to  bring  about  by  means  of  vigorous  and  earnest  literary 
propaganda  liberal  government  in  the  German  states.  In  addition 
to  Heine,  who  was  an  ardent  champion  of  the  cause,  the  journalist 
Borne,  the  novelist  and  dramatist  Gutzkow,  and  the  critic  Laube, 
to  say  nothing  of  a  considerable  number  of  poets,  such  as  Morike, 
all  contributed  their  part  to  this  movement.  The  product,  viewed 
as  literature,  was  not  especially  significant,  and  the  popular  hopes 
were  shattered  by  the  reaction  following  1848. 

Then  ensued  a  period  of  quiet,  with  a  dominant  note  of  pes- 
simism. The  influence  of  Wilhelm  Hegel  (1770-1831),  the  great 
philosopher  who  had  taken  a  commanding  position  in  the  thought 
of  the  earlier  part  of  the  century,  now  gave  way  to  that  of  the  pes- 
simistic philosophy  of  his  opponent  Arthur  Schopenhauer  ( 1 788- 
1860).  On  the  whole,  fiction  and  drama  were  more  successful  than 
poetry  because  more  in  accord  with  the  demands  of  the  times.  The 
psychological  short  stories  and  idyls  of  Paul  Heyse,  skillfully  con- 
ceived and  handled, — to  say  nothing  of  his  plays  and  lyrics, — 
proved  very  popular ;  also  the  Low  German  stories  of  Fritz  Renter. 
Theodor  Storm's  "Immensee"  is  one  of  the  most  pleasing  of  short 


286  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

stories  in  any  language  and  is  characteristic  of  Germany's  produc- 
tion in  this  field.  Among  novelists  of  the  mid-century  a  few  call 
for  special  notice.  Friedrich  Spielhagen,  a  very  prolific  writer,  has 
left  a  long  series  of  novels  as  well  as  dramatic  works  and  miscella- 
neous writings.  Marie  von  Ebner-Eschenbach,  an  Austrian  novel- 
ist, achieved  great  success  in  her  story  of  Austrian  society  life, 
"Two  Countesses,"  and  in  later  writings.  She  has  a  graceful  and 
artistic  style,  and  her  psychological  studies  are  particularly  effec- 
tive. Gustav  Freytag,  esteemed  for  his  work  in  the  dramatic  field, 
especially  "Die  Journalisten,"  has  left  a  great  social  novel  in  three 
volumes,  "Soil  und  Haben."  Gottfried  Keller,  a  Swiss  writer  of 
decidedly  original  powers,  thoroughly  artistic  and  gifted  with  a 
strong  sense  of  humor,  is  honored  as  a  novelist,  but  perhaps  even 
more  as  a  poet.  The  most  impressive  of  his  poems  belong  to  the 
period  succeeding  the  Franco-Prussian  War.  In  the  field  of  drama, 
in  addition  to  several  writers  already  mentioned,  Friedrich  Hebbel 
and  Otto  Ludwig  should  be  named.  To  this  period  belong  the 
music  dramas  of  Richard  Wagner,  to  which  reference  has  already 
been  made. 

The  momentous  history  of  Germany  during  the  years  just  pre- 
ceding the  Franco-Prussian  War,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
German  empire  as  the  direct  outcome  of  that  conflict,  had  little 
immediate  effect  upon  literature.  Yet  there  were  undercurrents,  and 
since  the  eighties  the  flow  seems  to  have  become  richer  and  deeper. 
During  this  general  period  the  philosophic  ideas  of  both  Hegel  and 
Schopenhauer  have  had  less  weight,  a  return  to  the  basic  ideas  of 
Kant  has  been  noticeable,  and  the  optimistic  and  individualistic 
philosophy  of  Nietzsche  has  had  its  followers  in  Germany.  Frie- 
drich Nietzsche  (1844-1900)  did  not  live  a  long  life,  and  the  ill 
health  and  insanity  of  his  later  years  checked  his  work.  He  had 
earned  before  this  a  great  reputation  for  the  brilliance  of  his  style 
and  the  unique  qualities  of  his  thought.  His  works  have  been 
widely  read  in  Europe  and  America.  "Thus  Spake  Zarathustra" 
gives  perhaps  the  most  characteristic  expression  of  his  philosophy. 
It  seems  to  be  as  much  poetry  as  prose,  and  it  is  illuminated  with 
flashes  of  genius.    But  it  may  well  be  questioned  whether  Germany 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  287 

has  profited  by  the  dissemination  of  some  of  the  Nietzschean  ideas: 
that  all  the  standards  of  the  past  are  to  be  abolished ;  that  altru- 
ism and  conscience  are  signs  of  weakness;  that  the  world  can  be 
moved  only  by  deeds,  not  by  tears  and  repentance ;  and  that  the 
race  is  to  be  saved  by  the  ''superman,"  the  strong  man,  who  will 
triumph  over  common  humanity. 

The  doctrine  of  Naturalism  has  found  exponents  in  Germany 
since  1870,  but  the  movement  has  taken  a  different  trend  from  that 
taken  in  France.  Its  general  effect  has  been  to  awaken  Germany 
and  to  give  an  impulse  to  new  theories  of  art.  A  series  of  poets 
whose  best  work  falls  within  the  limits  of  this  later  period  must 
claim  our  attention.  Conrad  Ferdinand  IMeyer  and  Keller  (men- 
tioned above)  were  both  stirred  by  the  events  of  1870.  Meyer  is 
a  Swiss  writer  who  has  produced  delicate  and  searching  poems 
written  in  a  highly  individual  and  restrained  style.  His  strength 
is  in  the  field  of  the  historical  poem.  Keller  has  been  spoken  of  as 
"the  most  creative  spirit  that  has  appeared  in  modern  German 
literature  since  Goethe."  His  style  has  color  and  is  full  of  images 
and  metaphors.  Detlev  von  Liliencron  was  born  in  North  Ger- 
many and  is  of  Danish  origin.  While  not  an  important  thinker,  he 
has  a  vivid  and  eager  style  and  a  rich  vocabulary,  and  his  lyrics 
and  ballads  are  very  carefully  written.  Arno  Holz,  an  East  Prus- 
sian poet,  has  not  achieved  very  great  popularity,  but  has  had 
considerable  effect  upon  recent  German  literature  because  of  his 
theories  of  poetry  and  art.  His  plays  have  an  extraordinary  sense 
of  reality.  He  has  thought  of  his  mission  as  in  the  direction  of 
social  reform  (hence  his  vivid  pictures  of  the  life  of  the  poor), 
and  in  the  field  of  literary  art  his  impulse  has  been  to  encourage 
realistic,  concise,  and  sincere  expression.  German  prose,  influ- 
enced largely  by  Nietzsche,  has  had  the  tendency  latterly  to  rival 
that  of  France  in  richness  and  flexibility,  thus  upsetting  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  past.  Among  recent  writers  of  prose  a  group  of  women 
novelists  must  not  be  overlooked.  Of  these  the  most  conspicuous 
are  Ricarda  Huch,  a  novelist,  critic,  and  historian,  and  Clara  Vie- 
big,  an  author  of  novels  which  present  studies  in  environment. 
Some  of  the  novelists  mentioned  above  have  produced  well-known 


288  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

work  in  this  later  period.  In  addition,  a  number  of  others  might 
be  named;  such,  for  instance,  as  Arthur  Schnitzler,  a  versatile 
writer  of  fiction  and  drama,  who  has  achieved  considerable  popu- 
larity for  his  descriptions  of  life  and  for  his  prose  style;  and 
Hermann  Bahr,  one  of  the  best  of  German  impressionist  critics. 
No  writer,  however,  seems  to  speak  for  Germany  as  a  whole, 
although  much  work  of  conspicuous  merit  is  being,  produced 
constantly. 

In  recent  decades  the  theater  has  become  a  more  important  part  of 
life  in  Germany  than  in  other  countries.  Among  dramatists  of  our 
era  Germany  has  produced  at  least  two  important  representatives 
— Hermann  Sudermann  (1857-  )  and  Gerhart  Hauptmann 
(1862-  ).  The  Naturalistic  drama,  to  which  both  have  made 
considerable  contributions,  is  a  modern  development  which  has 
been  described  in  another  chapter.  Sudermann  began  his  literary 
career  as  a  novelist ;  his  "Frau  Sorge"  (''Dame  Care")  is  the  best 
of  his  stories  and  one  of  the  foremost  of  recent  German  novels. 
In  1888  "Die  Ehre"  ("Honor"),  his  earliest  play,  appeared  and 
was  recognized  at  once  as  an  achievement.  Among  his  other  plays 
"Sodom's  End"  and  "Heimat"  ("Magda,"  as  it  is  called  in  its 
English  version)  are  prominent.  The  last  impresses  the  reader  as 
one  of  the  best  plays  in  the  school  which  it  represents.  Sudermann 
has  chosen  several  vital  themes  for  his  dramas  and  has  displayed 
considerable  art  as  a  playwright.  Hauptmann,  a  Silesian,  used 
Silesia  for  the  background  of  his  earliest  important  play,  "The 
Weavers,"  which  still  seems  the  most  striking  of  his  Naturalistic 
plays.  It  is  hard  to  forgive  him  for  the  gross  realism  revealed  in 
such  a  play  as  "  Fuhrmann  Henschel."  But  Hauptmann  has  proved 
versatile  and  original  and  has  tried  his  hand  at  several  forms  of 
dramatic  art.  He  is  at  his  best  in  his  poetic  dramas,  "Hannele" 
and  "Die  Versunkene  Glocke"  ("The  Sunken  Bell").  In  the  for- 
mer the  sordid  picture  of  life  in  an  almshouse  is  blended  with  the 
beautiful  dreams  of  a  dying  child.  "The  Sunken  Bell"  is  a  fairy 
tale  in  dramatic  form,  glorified  by  poetry  and  imagination,  and 
intended  as  an  allegory  to  show  the  tragedy  of  the  artist  who  can- 
not adapt  himself  to  his  surroundings. 


GERMAN  LITERATURE  289 


Reference  List 


Henderson.    Short  History  of  Germany.    The  Macmillan  Company. 

Priest.    Germany  since  1740.    Ginn  and  Company. 

Robertson.    Literature  of  Germany   (Home   University   Library).    Henry 
Holt  and  Company. 

Priest.    Brief  History  of  German  Literature.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Thomas.    German  Literature.    D.  Appleton  and  Company. 

Wells.    Modern  German  Literature.    Roberts  Bros. 

Heller.    Studies  in  Modern  German  Literature.    Ginn  and  Company. 

CoAR.     Studies   in    German   Literature   in   the   Nineteenth    Century.     The 
Macmillan  Company. 

Brandes.    Main  Currents  of  Nineteenth  Century  Literature,  Vol.  II.   The 
Macmillan  Company. 

BoYESEN.    Essays  on  German  Literature.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Francke.   History  of  German  Literature  as  Determined  by  Social  Forces. 
Henry  Holt  and  Company. 

Carlyle.  Various  essays  on  German  literature.  Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

Lewes.    Life  of  Goethe.    E.  P.  Button  &  Company. 

Bielschowsky.    Life  of  Goethe  (3  vols.).    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 

Hume  Brown.    Life  of  Goethe  (2  vols.).   John  Murray,  London. 

Carlyle.    Life  of  Schiller.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Kl/iiNEMANN.    Life  of  Schiller  (2  vols.).    Ginn  and  Company. 

Oxford  Book  of  German  Verse  gives  the  German  text  only.    Oxford  Uni- 
versity Press. 

Translations : 

Several  good  versions  of  the  "Nibelungcnlied"  are  available;  for  example, 

the  Everyman's  Library  edition.    E.  P.  Button  &  Company. 
The  Bohn  Library  covers  a  number  of  German  classics  in  English,  includ- 
ing Goethe  and  Schiller.   Harcourt,  Brace  and  Company. 
Goethe's  "VVilhelm  Mcister"  (Carlyle)  (2  vols.).   A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co. 
Goethe's  "Faust"  (Taylor).    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 
Editions  of  recent  German  literature,  such  as  Hauptmann's  and  Sudcr- 
mann's  plays,  are  easily  obtainable  in  English. 

Suggested  Topics 

The  "Nibelungcnlied." 

Examples  of  German  folk  songs. 

Lcssing's  "Nathan  the  Wise." 

The  personality  of  Schiller. 

Schiller's  "Wilhclm  Tell" 

Striking  episodes  in  the  life  of  Goethe. 

"Wilhelm  Meister." 

The  Grctchcn  passages  from  "Faust." 

Philosophy  of  "Faust." 


290 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


Goethe's  "Iphigenie"  compared  with  Euripides'  "Iphigenia." 

Heine's  poems. 

The  German  philosophers  and  their  influence. 

Recent  literature  of  Germany. 

Germany's  place  among  the  nations. 


CHAPTER  X 
RUSSIAN  LITERATURE 

It  is  now  one  hundred  years  since  Pushkin's  first  writings  ap- 
peared. All  that  is  of  chief  importance  in  Russian  literature  has 
been  produced  in  the  interval.  Rich  as  the  literature  of  various 
nations  has  proved  during  the  past  century,  the  Russian  contribu- 
tion is  unexcelled.  Translations  have  appeared  of  late  years  in  rapid 
succession  ;  it  is  as  if  a  gold  mine  had  been  uncovered.  The  litera- 
ture of  Russia  possesses  extraordinary  vigor,  brilliance,  simplicity, 
and  reality.  What  a  people  !  Their  genius,  their  strength  and  weak- 
ness, the  pathos  of  their  history,  are  all  vividly  disclosed  in  their 
literature.  To  read  this  literature  is  to  understand  the  soul  of 
Russia. 

The  land  and  the  people.  A  glance  at  the  map  will  serve  to  re- 
mind the  reader  of  the  configuration  and  physical  features  of  this 
interesting  country.  It  covers  an  immense  area  in  eastern  Europe. 
East  to  the  Urals  and  south  to  the  Caucasus  it  is  almost  wholly  a 
plain  country  with  an  elevation  only  a  few  hundred  feet  above  sea 
level — marshland  to  the  far  north,  then  wooded  stretches,  then  a 
great  agricultural  plain,  and,  last  of  all,  the  steppes  of  the  south. 
Russia  has  little  seaboard,  but  its  rivers  are  numerous  and  include 
the  Volga,  the  longest  in  Europe.  Its  cities,  particularly  Kiev  and 
Novgorod,  Moscow,  and  Petrograd  (formerly  St.  Petersburg),  are 
famous  in  Russian  history  and  literature.  The  reader  of  the  poems 
and  tales  of  Russia  soon  receives  an  indelible  impression  of  the  char- 
acteristic landscape  as  it  appears  in  winter  and  in  summer,  and  of 
the  villages,  the  country  estates,  and  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  people.  He  comes  to  know  intimately  the  life  of  ^Moscow  and 
Petrograd ;  he  gets  glimpses  of  the  Cossacks  on  the  plains  and 
in  their  mountain  fastnesses ;  most  of  all,  he  meets  at  every  turn 

291 


292 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


the  Russian  peasant,  that  inscrutable  and  interesting  figure,  form- 
ing by  far  the  largest  element  among  the  people  of  Russia. 

Primarily  a  Slav,  the  Russian  is  a  descendant  of  that  branch  of 
the  Aryan,  or  Indo-European,  race  which  occupied  eastern  Europe 
at  a  very  early  period.  But  there  are  other  racial  strains.  The  Rus- 
sian people  have  assimilated  a  considerable  body  of  Scandinavians, 

who  came  as  traders  and 
roving  adventurers  during 
the  Viking  period.  Of  more 
consequence  is  the  Finnish 
element,  so  important  an  in- 
fluence as  noticeably  to  mod- 
ify the  Slavic  character  of 
the  Russian.  Situated  on  the 
eastern  border  of  Europe,  the 
Russian  faces  both  east  and 
west,  and  he  has  been  influ- 
enced strongly  by  both  Ori- 
ent andOccident.  Therecame 
in  the  thirteenth  century  dis- 
astrous incursions  of  Tatars 
(or  Tartars), — Mongolian 
tribes  which  overran  Russia 
and  held  for  centuries  some 
of  the  richest  portions  of 
the  land.  This  occupation  inevitably  affected  the  customs  and  the 
language  of  Russia,  though  less  than  might  be  expected.  The 
Russian  is  today  essentially  a  Slav  and  hence  an  Aryan. 

Not  all  men,  even  those  of  one  nation,  are  cast  in  the  same  mold, 
and  it  is  hazardous  to  make  generalizations.  But  the  Russian 
seems  to  have  certain  pretty  well-defined  qualities,  due  perhaps  to 
a  common  racial  blend  and  to  similar  climatic  conditions  and  ways 
of  life  prevailing  over  large  portions  of  the  country  and  extending 
over  long  ages  of  history.  As  a  rule  the  Russian  is  pacific,  human, 
sincere.  Intellectually  he  is  keen  and  quick-witted,  with  an  ex- 
traordinary fondness  for  argument  and  discussion.  He  is  by  nature 


THE  KREMLIN,   MOSCOW 


RUSSIAN  LITERATURE  293 

commonly  religious,  even  fatalistic.  He  is  patient  and  stoical  un- 
der suffering.  Bursts  of  energy  and  audacity  are  quite  character- 
istic of  him.  He  has  sympathy  for  his  fellows  and  for  dumb 
animals,  and  he  lives  close  to  nature  and  to  the  facts  of  life. 
Absolute  frankness  and  reality  and  freedom  of  thought  and  man- 
ners seem  to  be  the  rule.  Some  of  his  less  pleasing  traits  are  the 
defects  of  his  good  qualities.  He  is  apt  to  be  self-indulgent,  un- 
original, ill-balanced.  Thought  does  not  easily  resolve  itself  into 
action ;  Russian  Hamlets  abound.  He  lacks  initiative  and  inde- 
pendence, and  he  is  prone  to  let  well  enough  alone.  The  indolent 
Oblomov  and  the  indecisive  Rudin  are  topically  Russian.  A 
settled  gloom  and  tragic  seriousness  permeate  the  novels  of 
Russian  writers — among  the  major  novelists  only  one,  Gogol, 
may  be  considered  a  humorist,  and  his  humor  is  of  a  grim  and 
searching  nature.^ 

The  language.  In  their  early  history  the  Slavs  probably  spoke 
only  one  dialect.  The  language  of  the  Czechs,  the  Poles,  the  Ser- 
bians, the  Bulgarians,  and  the  Russians  (to  mention  no  others)  is 
in  its  fundamentals  the  same.  Three  clearly  deiined  dialects  have 
developed  in  Russia :  Little  Russian,  spoken  by  about  thirty  mil- 
lions in  the  southern  and  southwestern  Ukrainian  region ;  White 
Russian,  spoken  by  eight  millions  in  the  northwestern  Lithuanian 
region  ;  and  Great  Russian,  the  furthest  developed,  the  literary  and 
written  language,  spoken  by  nearly  eighty  millions — at  its  purest 
in  the  region  of  Moscow.  By  the  addition  of  new  words  from  other 
languages,  and  by  the  development  of  grammatical  forms  (espe- 
cially in  the  skillful  hands  of  Lomonosov  in  the  eighteenth  century) , 
the  language  has  undergone  considerable  change.  But  at  its  basis 
it  is  the  same  Slavonian  speech  current  a  thousand  years  ago.  .Ml 
those  who  know  Russian  unite  in  singing  its  praises.  They  speak 
of  its  sonorous  qualities,  its  elasticity,  its  wonderful  richness  in 
vocabulary,  capable  of  expressing  every  shade  of  thought  and  feel- 
ing, "Thou  alone,"  said  Turgenev,  ""art  my  rod  and  my  staff,  O 
great,  mighty,  true,  and  free  Russian  language!    If  it  were  not  for 

'  See  the  excellent  analysis  of  the  Russian  character  given  in  Maurice  Bar- 
ing's "The  Russian  People." 


294  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

thee,  how  could  one  keep  from  despairing  at  the  sight  of  what  is 
going  on  at  home?  But  it  is  inconceivable  that  such  a  language 
should  not  belong  to  a  great  people." 

Russia  takes  over  readily  the  classics  of  all  nations,  for  it  is  able 
to  translate  into  its  own  speech  every  type  of  literature  from  every 
language.  The  intellectual  unity  of  the  Russians  seems  marvelous 
to  us.  Their  classics,  according  to  Kropotkin,  circulate  in  the 
villages  by  millions  of  copies;  and  complete  sets  of  special 
favorites  have  sold  to  the  extent  of  two  hundred  thousand  in  a 
single  year. 

Historical  sketch.  During  its  long  history  Russia  has  suffered 
under  cruel  disabilities.  In  the  early  centuries  semi-barbarism  and 
anarchy  hindered  any  real  progress.  The  coming  of  Christianity 
brought  little  advance,  for  the  Greek  Church  fastened  Greek 
legislation  and  government  upon  the  country,  introduced  an  un- 
changing ritual,  and  had  the  effect  of  checking  for  centuries  the 
intellectual  life  of  the  people  and  of  holding  Russia  in  its  position 
of  half-oriental  seclusion.  Add  to  this  the  Tatar  invasion  (1238), 
with  the  submergence  of  national  life  for  a  long  period.  It  was 
not  until  1462  that  domination  by  this  alien  people  ceased.  Only 
spasmodically  did  the  progress  of  the  West  reach  Russia.  Political 
and  social  changes  came  about  with  great  difficulty.  By  an  un- 
happy chance  the  Russian  peasant  was  bound  to  the  soil  as  a  mere 
serf  and  did  not  secure  his  freedom  until  after  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  The  ruling  class  was  small  and  completely 
estranged  from  the  people. 

However,  under  Peter  the  Great  (1672-1725)  important  ad- 
vances were  made.  Peter  brought  about  far-reaching  governmental 
changes,  was  powerfully  influenced  by  the  West,  and  gave  a  de- 
cided intellectual  impulse  to  his  country.  Since  his  day  Russia  has 
taken  its  part  increasingly  in  the  history  of  Europe.  Nearly  all 
the  Tsars  unfortunately  proved  reactionary,  however  liberal  their 
tendencies  may  have  been  at  the  beginning  of  their  reigns.  Burn- 
ing indignation  against  the  selfishness  and  cruelty  of  the  Russian 
autocracy  became  inevitable  throughout  the  country.  The  revolu- 
tionary movement  as  it  slowly  developed  and  gained  power  won  the 


RUSSIAN  LITERATURE  295 

sympathy  of  the  liberty-loving  people  of  the  world.  So  overmaster- 
ing an  element  did  this  become  in  the  intellectual  life  of  nineteenth- 
century  Russia  that  many  Russian  novels  and  tales  were  permeated 
with  it  and  had  the  effect  of  being  tracts  for  the  times. 

And  now  the  Romanov  autocracy  has  gone,  and  in  its  place  has 
come  something  which  the  devoted  leaders  of  the  revolutionary 
movement  could  scarcely  have  foreseen.  Russia  has  not  yet  worked 
out  her  destiny. 

The  Literature  before  Pushkin 

As  in  the  case  of  other  nations,  Russia  produced  during  its  early 
period  a  large  amount  of  popular  oral  literature,  which,  passed  on 
from  generation  to  generation,  was  finally  collected  and  published. 
This  folk  material, in  the  form  of  old  songs, hero  tales,  and  rude  epics, 
is  very  rich.  The  origin  of  some  of  the  legendary  poems,  known  as 
byliny,  and  the  folk  tales,  or  skaski,  may  possibly  be  traced  to  early 
Aryan  days.  Others  come  from  Mongol  and  Turk  sources ;  some 
are  plainly  borrowed  from  Eastern  tales ;  while  all  parts  of  Russia, 
including  the  Cossack  region,  and  all  periods  as  late  as  the  time  of 
Peter  the  Great,  are  represented  in  these  tales.  As  a  revelation  of 
the  primitive  Russian  peasant's  ideals  and  beliefs  they  are  extremely 
interesting.  The  byliny  in  general  date  from  the  tenth  to  the 
twelfth  century.  At  the  close  of  that  period  they  had  become 
thoroughly  Russian  in  character — tales  generally  of  heroes  and 
their  adventures,  with  sometimes  magical  episodes  and  with  frag- 
ments of  old  myths.  While  not  rhythmical  poems  in  a  strict  sense, 
they  are  imaginative  and  poetic,  and  they  have  been  happily 
termed  "history  set  to  music."  An  attractive  collection  of  the 
skaski  bearing  the  title  "Russian  Wonder  Tales,"  rendered  into 
English  by  Post  Wheeler,  has  been  recently  published. 

The  early  period  produced  also  a  large  group  of  annals,  or  chron- 
icles, dealing  with  the  important  city  centers  and  coming  mainly 
from  the  tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  centuries.  Kiev,  which  was 
for  so  long  the  center  of  Russian  culture,  contributed  the  best- 
known  of  a  long  series  of  annals,  entitled  the  "Chronicle  of  Nes- 


296  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

tor."  Annalists  abounded  in  all  the  larger  towns;  mixed  with 
dry  and  commonplace  happenings,  they  included  curious  incidents 
and  quaint  old  tales.  A  famous  epic  narrative,  a  prose  byliny,  dat- 
ing from  the  twelfth  century,  is  known  as  the  "Story  of  Prince- 
Igor's  Raid."  It  is  an  original  and  vivid  historical  document  with 
highly  poetical  portions.  The  tale  is  concerned  with  an  expedition 
undertaken  by  Igor  of  Novgorod  against  the  Polotsky,  a  marauding 
people  occupying  southeastern  Russia ;  with  the  unfavorable  omens 
encountered  on  the  way ;  with  the  great  conflict  in  which  even  the 
dumb  animals  shared,  the  defeat  and  capture  of  Igor  and  his  men, 
and,  finally,  the  hero's  escape  and  return.  Inferior  though  it  may 
be  to  such  great  folk  epics  as  "The  Cid"  and  the  "Song  of 
Roland,"  it  belongs  in  the  same  general  class. 

With  the  coming  of  the  Tatars  the  city  of  Kiev  was  pillaged  and 
destroyed,  and  its  intellectual  influence  came  temporarily  to  an  end. 
Moscow  became  the  center  of  thought,  but  for  a  long  time  very 
slight  cultural  advance  took  place.  The  Church  frowned  upon  any 
but  Christian  writings,  and  the  ecclesiastical  literature,  though  con- 
siderable, seems  to  have  had  less  merit  than  that  of  other  nations. 
Not  until  1564  was  printing  introduced  into  Russia. 

While  we  look  in  vain  for  any  distinctive  literature  of  a  high 
order  in  Russia  from  this  period  until  the  nineteenth  century, 
important  developments  were  nevertheless  taking  place.  A  new 
cultural  movement — with  Kiev  again  as  its  center — commenced 
in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  Russian  theater  was 
formed  and  the  first  Russian  newspaper  established.  Under  Peter 
the  Great  the  Russian  vernacular,  with  a  simplified  alphabet,  be- 
came the  written,  literary  language.  Lomonosov,  who  has  already 
been  mentioned,  introduced  important  reforms  in  Russian  gram- 
mar. The  influence  of  the  West  became  increasingly  important. 
Zhukovsky,  himself  no  mean  poet,  rendered  a  great  service  in 
making  available  in  the  Russian  language  highly  poetical  transla- 
tions of  German,  English,  and  classical  poems.  Karamzin,  through 
his  historical  writings,  did  much  to  develop  a  national  conscious- 
ness. Russia  by  this  time  had  emerged  as  the  great  Slavic  state 
and  had  taken  its  place  among  the  more  important  nations  of 


RUSSIAN  LITERATURE 


297 


Europe.  The  time  was  ripe  for  an  original  and  distinctive  writer 
to  appear  who  should  give  a  great  impulse  to  national  literature. 
This  writer  proved  to  be  Alexander  Pushkin. 


Pushkin,  Lermontov,  and  Other  Poets 

Russia,  like  other  European  countries,  was  influenced  by  the 
somewhat  unreal  Classicism  of  the  eighteenth  century  and,  in 
turn,  by  the  Romantic  move- 
ment in  the  early  decades  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  The 
latter,  however,  as  has  been 
pointed  out  by  critics,  did 
not  make  a  strong  appeal  to 
the  Russian,  since  it  failed 
to  recognize  his  passion  for 
reality.  With  the  coming  of 
Pushkin  (1799-1837)  Clas- 
sicism disappeared  and  Ro- 
manticism was  soon  lost  in  the 
powerful  simplicity  and  real- 
ity so  native  and  attractive 
to  the  Russian  character. 
Pushkin  exhibited  even  in  his 
school  days  a  remarkable 
poetic  fancy,  and  his  teacher 
Zhukovsky  readily  acknowl- 
edged that  the  pupil  excelled 
the  master.  His  grandmother 

and  nurse  were  influential  forces  in  his  boyhood  and  youth.  They 
gave  direction  to  his  choice  of  language — pure,  simple,  and  direct 
— and  to  his  choice  of  themes :  a  rich  array  of  fairy  stories,  popular 
tales,  and  subjects  national  in  scope.  When  Pushkin  was  only 
twenty-one  his  reputation  was  made  through  the  publication  of 
"Ruslan  and  Liudmila."  It  was  Russia's  first  great  poem,  a  fairy 
tale  written  in  narrative  verse  and  replete  with  poetic  images. 


ALEXANDER   PUSHKIN 


298  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Because  of  Pushkin's  well-known  revolutionary  ideas  and  certain 
sarcastic  epigrams  which  he  wrote  touching  important  personages 
at  court,  he  was  sent  in  1820  from  St.  Petersburg,  where  he  had  been 
educated,  to  the  south  of  Russia.  Here  he  remained  for  four  years. 
The  Caucasus  and  the  Crimea  appealed  to  him  and  furnished  sub- 
jects for  some  of  his  choicest  lyrics.  During  this  period  he  was 
strongly  influenced  by  Byron,  and  the  imaginative  youth  even  felt 
tempted  to  join  the  famous  English  poet  in  Greece.  In  1824  he  was 
transferred  further  north  to  his  small  family  estate.  There  he  pro- 
duced his  best  works.  Pushkin  returned  to  city  life  in  1826,  settled 
in  Moscow,  and  held  a  court  position.  His  life  there  was  not  happy, 
and  its  effect  on  his  production  was  unfavorable,  though  the  his- 
toric drama  "Boris  Godunov,"  one  of  his  chief  works,  was  written 
during  this  period.  He  married  in  183 1  a  beautiful  woman  who 
was  unappreciative  of  his  genius.  It  was  in  1837  that  on  her  ac- 
count he  fought  a  duel  and  lost  his  life. 

Pushkin's  strength  lies  in  a  straightforward  e.xpression  of  feeling, 
a  simplicity  akin  to  that  of  Wordsworth,  a  beautiful  poetic  fancy, 
— especially  in  love  themes, — and  a  fine,  sympathetic  nature  and 
personality.  If  he  had  had  greater  depth  of  feeling  and  more  ex- 
alted ideas  and  had  chosen  themes  of  universal  interest,  he  might 
conceivably  have  become  a  great  world  poet.  In  his  own  country 
his  striking  lyrical  faculty,  the  harmony  of  his  verses,  and  the 
simple  character  sketches  and  pictures  of  Russian  life  in  his  nar- 
rative poems  have  made  him  a  universal  favorite.  Of  his  poems 
"Eugene  Onyegin"  is  regarded  as  his  masterpiece.  The  founda- 
tion of  this  novel  in  verse  was  laid  when  Pushkin  lived  in  the' 
neighborhood  of  Odessa.  The  story  itself  is  attractively  developed, 
with  picturesque  details  and  a  characteristic  lightness  of  touch. 
Tatyana,  the  great  figure  of  the  poem,  is  the  first  of  a  long  series  of 
noble  women  who  glorify  the  pages  of  Russian  literature. 

The  poems  of  Pushkin  have  never  been  adequately  translated 
into  English,  though  the  reader  will  find  interesting  extracts  in  Leo 
Wiener's  "Anthology  of  Russian  Literature"  and  in  Jarintzov's 
"Russian  Poets  and  Poems."  A  translationof  Pushkin's  chief  prose 
tale,  "The  Captain's  Daughter,"  appeared  some  years  ago.    The 


RUSSIAN  LITERATURE  299 

story  is  semi-romantic  in  subject.  Though  it  possesses  a  certain 
attractiveness,  it  is  completely  obscured  by  the  greater  tales  that 
appeared  immediately  after  Pushkin's  day. 

Lermontov  ( 1814-1841 )  is  a  less  impressive  figure  than  Pushkin, 
but  considering  that  his  literary  work  was  confined  to  eight  brief 
years,  the  product  is  notable.  His  mother  died  when  he  was  very 
young,  and  he  was  brought  up  by  his  grandmother.  At  Moscow, 
where  he  went  in  1826  to  complete  his  education,  he  proved  a  poetic 
youth, — solitary,  passionate,  deriving  his  inspiration  from  Schiller 
and  Shakespeare,  Shelley  and  Byron.  His  university  career  was 
closed  abruptly  because  of  difficulties  with  his  superiors ;  he  was 
transferred  to  a  military  school  at  St.  Petersburg  and  became  in  due 
time  an  officer.  In  1837  he  electrified  the  nation  by  a  revolutionarv' 
poem  addressed  to  the  Tsar  on  the  death  of  the  poet  Pushkin.  All 
Russia  learned  the  poem  by  heart,  but  the  gc^'ernment  authorities 
sent  the  young  poet  on  military  duty  to  the  Caucasus  as  a  punish- 
ment. This  region  cast  a  spell  over  Lermontov ;  he  described  it  in 
poems  of  great  beauty.  Possessing  a  nature  essentially  serious  and 
even  pessimistic,  Lermontov  voiced  in  his  poems  a  protest  against 
the  evils  of  the  life  of  his  day  and  at  the  same  time  a  burning  desire 
for  the  development  of  the  choicer  qualities  in  man.  His  poetry  is 
not  so  simple  as  that  of  Pushkin,  but  it  is  more  thoughtful  and  in- 
tense. He  published  in  1840  a  small  collection  of  his  poems.  A 
short  time  before  this  he  had  been  allowed  to  return  to  St.  Peters- 
burg. Here  he  wrote  ''A  Hero  of  Our  Time,"  a  remarkable  novel 
which  may  be  read  in  an  excellent  English  translation — the  story 
of  a  contemptuous  egotist,  Petchorin,  "the  portrait,"  as  the  author 
stated,  "of  the  vices  of  our  generation."  Its  brilliant  pictures  of 
the  Caucasus  and  its  vivid  character  sketches  give  it  a  distinction 
that  every  reader  must  appreciate.  Lermontov  was  banished  to 
the  Caucasus  a  second  time  in  1840  because  of  his  participation  in 
a  duel,  and  there  the  following  year,  in  a  duel  with  a  fellow  officer, 
he  lost  his  life  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-seven.  Lermontov's 
poetry  finds  its  finest  expression  in  his  two  narrative  poems  "The 
Demon"  and  "Mtsyri,"  both  of  which  stand  in  the  very  front 
rank  of  Russian  poetry. 


300  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

In  our  restricted  limits  it  is  impossible  to  dwell  upon  the  work  of 
such  Russian  poets  as  Krylov  (i  768-1 844),  writer  of  fables  in 
verse ;  Koltsov  ( 1 809-1 842),  poet  of  peasant  life  and  of  the  down- 
trodden people  of  Russia  ;  Nikitin  (i 824-1861),  writer  of  graceful 
and  emotional  verses;  and  Alexei  Tolstoy  (1817-1875),  gifted  in 
various  directions  and  famous  for  his  folk  songs  and  legends.  Their 
poetry  is  justly  honored,  and  will  be  known  before  long,  no  doubt, 
in  suitable  English  translations.  Nekrasov  (i 821-187 7)  is  prob- 
ably the  greatest  of  the  later  Russian  poets.  Dostoevsky  placed 
him  by  the  side  of  Pushkin  and  Lermontov,  yet  he  has  not  the 
poetic  power  of  either.  His  place  is  due  to  his  sincerity  and  real- 
ism, his  analytical  strength,  his  elevation  of  thought,  and  his 
deep  feeling  of  commiseration  for  the  Russian  peasant.  He  has 
written  a  number  of  short  lyrics.  His  longer  poems  "Red-Nosed 
Frost,"  "Russian  Women,"  and  especially  "Who  Lives  Well  in 
Russia"  are  notable. 

Gogol  and  Goncharov 

Nikolai  Gogol.  The  genius  of  the  Russian  race  has  expressed 
itself  chiefly  in  the  novel.  To  Nikolai  Gogol,  the  first  of  the  great 
line  of  Russian  novelists,  we  now  turn  our  attention.  Almost  alone 
among  Russian  writers  Gogol  is  a  humorist :  he  constantly  mingles 
comedy  with  tragedy.  The  reader  of  his  writings  carries  away 
with  him  also  the  impression  of  his  versatility.  Gogol  excelled 
in  four  fields  of  literary  art.  He  produced  in  "The  Cloak"  a  little 
masterpiece,  the  progenitor  of  a  host  of  other  Russian  short  stories; 
in  "The  Inspector-General"  ("Revizor")  he  wrote  a  finished  com- 
edy, one  of  the  very  few  plays  of  his  nation  that  are  known  in- 
ternationally;  in  "Taras  Bulba"  he  offered  a  prose  romance,  or 
historical  novel,  of  almost  epic  power  and  strength;  and  in  "Dead 
Souls"  he  gave  to  Russia  its  first  great  realistic  novel. 

Gogol  was  born  in  Little  Russia  in  1809  and  died  in  Moscow  in 
1852.  The  influence  of  Little  Russia  is  seen  throughout  his  writ- 
ings. He  was  imbued  with  the  poetry  and  life  of  the  Ukrainian  re- 
gion, and  he  made  its  historical  legends  his  own.    At  the  age  of 


RUSSIAN  LITEPL^TURE  301 

nineteen  he  went  to  St.  Petersburg.  After  a  good  deal  of  uncertainty 
as  to  his  career,  and  a  brief  term  as  professor  of  history,  he  devoted 
himself  entirely  to  literature.  His  first  volume  of  stories  of  Little 
Russian  life  appeared  in  183 1,  followed  shortly  after  by  another 
collection.  His  themes  were  drawn  in  large  part  from  peasant  life. 
The  first  collection  is  almost  entirely  humorous,  while  the  second 
shows  Gogol's  natural  bent  toward  Realism.  A  third  collection  deals 
with  Great  Russian  life,  and  this  includes  "The  Cloak,"  which  has 
already  been  mentioned.  In  the  writing  of  "Taras  Bulba"  Gogol 
was  to  some  extent  under  the  influence  of  the  Romantic  school. 
"The  Inspector-General"  proved  a  great  success,  being  witnessed 
and  approved  by  even  the  Tsar ;  but  because  of  certain  opposition 
to  his  theories  of  art  Gogol  decided  to  live  abroad.  For  a  long 
period  he  dwelt  in  Rome  and  elsewhere.  For  fifteen  years  he  worked 
intermittently  on  "Dead  Souls"  and  even  then  left  it  unfinished. 
A  strange  development  in  his  lateryears,  the  acceptance  of  a  mystical 
and  ascetic  view  of  life,  led  him  to  deprecate  his  literary  produc- 
tions, and  he  wantonly  destroyed  the  second  part  of  "Dead  Souls." 
He  made  in  1848  a  journey  to  Jerusalem,  and  then  returned  to 
Russia  and  settled  in  Moscow,  where  he  died  a  few  years  later. 

The  strength  of  Gogol  consists  in  his  natural  and  genuine  wit  and 
humor,  his  acute  observation,  his  power  in  presenting  a  great  many 
types  of  Russian  people,  and  his  graphic  realism.  All  of  Gogol's  chief 
works  have  been  widely  read  in  English.  "The  Cloak,"  the  story 
of  a  poor  clerk  who  by  dint  of  many  sacrifices  accumulated  a  suffi- 
cient store  of  money  to  buy  a  new  cloak,  only  to  have  it  stolen 
on  the  day  that  he  first  appeared  in  it  publicly,  touches  the  sym- 
pathetic imagination  of  all  readers.  "Taras  Bulba"  presents  in  its 
hero  the  figure  of  a  great  fighting  man  who  shared  in  the  defense  of 
Russia  against  the  Turks  in  the  fifteenth  century.  Taras  is  fated 
to  take  the  life  of  one  of  his  sons  by  his  own  hand  and  to  witness 
the  execution  of  the  other.  He  himself  perishes  at  the  stake.  It  is 
hard  to  convey  the  tremendous  power  of  such  a  book  as  this.^ 

^No  reader  of  this  book  will  fail  to  sympathize  with  the  steward  on  the 
river  boat,  as  described  in  Gorky's  autobiography.  The  small  Gorky  had 
been  reading  aloud  Gogol's  famous  novel.   "When  Taras  killed  his  son,  the 


302  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Gogol  himself  has  described  his  purpose  in  writing"  The  Inspector- 
General."  "I  tried  to  gather  In  one  heap  all  that  was  bad  in  Rus- 
sia, as  I  then  understood  it ;  I  wished  to  turn  it  all  to  ridicule.  The 
real  impression  produced  then  was  fear.  Through  the  laughter  that 
I  have  never  laughed  more  loudly,  the  spectator  feels  my  bitterness 
and  sorrow."  The  plot  is  very  skillfully  developed,  and  the  inter- 
est is  sustained.  In  the  town  where  the  scene  of  the  story  is  laid, 
various  officials  are  in  a  state  of  alarm  over  the  approaching  visit  of 
the  Inspector,  who  is  expected  to  arrive  incognito  and  investigate 
the  local  administration.  The  humor  of  the  play  consists  in  a  mis- 
understanding as  to  the  identity  of  the  Inspector  and  in  the  sport 
which  the  supposed  public  official  makes  of  the  functionaries  of  the 
small  town. 

The  theme  of  "Dead  Souls"  was  suggested  by  the  poet  Pushkin. 
Chichikov,  the  central  figure,  is  a  true  adventurer  and  promoter  of 
the  type  familiar  to  us  in  America.  He  conceives  the  idea  of  buy- 
ing up  the  names  of  serfs  who  have  died  since  the  last  registration 
of  serfs  in  the  various  country  estates.  The  advantage  to  the  owner 
of  the  serfs  is  that  with  the  transference  of  the  names  from  his  own 
list  he  will  no  longer  have  to  pay  the  tax  upon  these  individuals. 
The  advantage  to  Chichikov  is  that,  having  secured  a  list  of  duly 
authenticated  serfs'  names,  he  will  be  able  to  attach  them  to  the 
new  estate  which  he  expects  to  acquire,  and  thus  may  borrow  on 
his  property  in  land  and  souls  a  sum  of  money  for  his  own  pur- 
poses. However,  this  is  the  mere  frame  of  the  story.  The  interest 
consists  in  the  reaction  of  the  various  landowners  to  Chichikov's 
proposition  and  in  the  extraordinarily  vivid  pictures  of  Russian  life 
and  character  in  the  various  districts  which  the  adventurer  reaches. 
As  in  other  famous  books, — the  Odyssey,  "Don  Quixote,"  "Gil 
Bias,"  and  others, — the  scene  of  "Dead  Souls"  is  constantly  being 
changed,  opening  up  new  and  entertaining  matter  at  every  turn. 
Gogol's  humor  is  mingled  with  irony  and  satire.    There  is  much 

cook  let  his  feet  slip  from  the  hammock,  bent  himself  double,  and  wept.  The 
tears  trickled  down  his  cheeks,  splashed  upon  the  deck  as  he  breathed  ster- 
torousiy  and  muttered,  'Oh,  my  God  '  my  God  !  It  is  a  fine  book,  a  regular 
treat.'" 


RUSSIAN  LITEIL\TURE  303 

food  for  thought  in  "Dead  Souls."  One  feels  that  it  is  in  a  sense 
Gogol's  autobiography.  His  keen  arraignment  of  Russia  and  his 
indignation  at  the  conditions  which  he  found  in  the  life  of  the 
people  dominate  even  the  plot.  The  comment  which  Pushkin  made 
when  he  read  the  manuscript  of  ''Dead  Souls"  is  famous:  "God! 
what  a  sad  country  is  Russia !  Gogol  invents  nothing :  it  is  the 
truth,  the  terrible  truth." 

Goncharov  (1812-1891),  the  writer  of  an  excellent  book  of 
travel,  some  sketches,  and  a  few  novels,  is  remembered  chiefly  for 
his  novel  ''Oblomov,"  which  has  recently  been  translated  into  Eng- 
lish and  makes  interesting  reading.  Oblomov  is  cursed  with  the 
spirit  of  indolence,  which  characterizes  his  life  on  his  estate  and  in 
the  capital.  Even  his  love  for  the  splendid  young  woman  Olga  fails 
to  arouse  him  from  his  inaction.  We  leave  him  as  we  found  him,  a 
prey  to  inner  brooding  and  the  willing  victim  of  sloth.  The  really 
incredible  success  of  this  book  makes  it  clear  that  Goncharov  suc- 
ceeded admirably  in  depicting  a  distinctive  trait  of  the  Russian  peo- 
ple; but  it  is  more  than  local  in  its  significance — it  calls  attention 
to  a  type  existing  in  every  country,  a  product  of  modern  civilization. 

"Oblomov,"  like  ''Dead  Souls,"  is  a  striking  and  early  example 
of  Russian  Realism.  It  is  fair  to  ask  ourselves  at  this  point  the 
meaning  of  the  term.  Kropotkin  is  authority  for  the  statement 
that  among  the  Russians  "  Realism  could  not  be  limited  to  a  mere 
anatomy  of  society :  it  had  to  have  a  higher  background  ;  the  realis- 
tic description  had  to  be  made  subservient  to  an  idealistic  aim." 
The  Russian  novel  has  been  influenced  by  foreign  literature,  but  it 
is  none  the  less  a  strikingly  indigenous  product.  Ordinarily  plot 
structure  does  not  concern  Russian  writers  nearly  as  much  as  sin- 
cere utterance,  a  picture  of  living  experiences  told  with  the  greatest 
freedom  and  simplicity.  In  the  words  of  a  recent  critic :  "Literary 
productions  called  by  their  authors  a  story  or  a  novel  are  quite 
often  neither  one  nor  the  other.  They  are  just  a  morsel  of  real  life, 
an  illuminating  episode,  a  study  in  human  character,  or  a  string  of 
such  episodes  and  studies  loosely  connected.  The  Russian  reader 
and  the  Russian  critic  were  looking  for  the  truthfulness  and  spir- 
itual depth  of  a  work  rather  than  for  its  external  perfection." 


304 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


TURGENEV 

By  tradition,  and  doubtless  by  strict  justice,  the  great  outstand- 
ing figures  in  Russian  literature  are  Turgenev,  Dostoevsky,  and 
Tolstoy,  men  very  different  in  genius,  impulse,  and  method.  Of 
these  three  Turgenev  displays  the  most  thoroughgoing  culture  and 

the  surest  artistry.  His  lit- 
erary production  covered  a 
period  of  over  thirty  years. 
At  times  misunderstood,  both 
at  home  and  abroad,  his  place 
among  the  leading  writers 
of  nineteenth-century  Europe 
now  seems  assured. 

Ivan  Turgenev  ( 1 8 1 8- 
1883)  was  born  in  Orel,  cen- 
tral Russia.  His  father  was  a 
landowner  with  a  large  estab- 
lishment of  serfs.  Turgenev 
early  found  himself  out  of 
sympathy  with  the  landown- 
ing class,  and  his  writings 
were  influential  in  bringing 
about  the  emancipation  of 
the  serfs.  He  was  educated 
in  ]\Ioscow,  St.  Petersburg, 
and  Berlin.  Like  most  of  his  fellow  countrymen,  he  proved  a 
natural  linguist  and  early  felt  at  home  in  the  literature  and  culture 
of  Europe.  Goethe  was  a  special  favorite  of  his ;  it  is  said  that  he 
memorized  the  whole  of  the  First  Part  of "  Faust."  Turgenev's  fame 
as  a  writer  began  with  the  publication  (1845-1857)  of  ''Annals  of 
a  Sportsman."  The  sympathetic  pictures  in  this  volume  of  the  lives 
of  the  serfs  made  a  deep  impression  upon  Russia.  In  1852,  because 
of  some  remarks  made  against  the  official  class  in  a  eulogistic  essay 
on  Gogol,  he  was  banished  to  his  estate.  Although  later  allowed  to 
return  to  Russian  cultural  centers,  he  spent  nearly  the  whole  of  the 


IVAN    TURGENEV 


RUSSIAN  LITERATURE  305 

remainder  of  his  life  in  various  parts  of  western  Europe,  particularly 
in  Paris.  In  some  ways  this  expatriation  proved  an  advantage  to 
his  genius,  as  he  was  enabled  to  study  Russia  at  long  range  and  to 
write  dispassionately.  ^Moreover,  his  lengthy  residence  in  Paris 
served  to  make  Russia  known  in  Western  centers  of  culture. 

Those  who  remember  Turgenev's  personal  appearance  speak  of 
his  refinement,  of  his  gentleness,  and  of  his  sad  countenance.  He 
was  nobly  built  and  gave  the  impression  of  a  quiet  strength  of  body 
and  mind.  Always  instinctively  modest,  there  was  no  jealousy  in  his 
disposition.  He  is  said  to  have  shouted  "Hurrah  ! "  when  Tolstoy's 
''Sevastopol"  appeared  and  to  have  drunk  his  younger  rival's 
health.  Years  later,  after  a  long  period  of  estrangement,  he  sent  to 
Tolstoy  one  of  the  most  generous  and  gracious  letters  ever  written 
by  one  literary  man  to  another: 

"I  am  on  my  death-bed;  there  is  no  possibility  of  my  recovery.  I 
write  you  expressly  to  tell  you  how  happy  I  have  been  to  be  your  con- 
temporary, and  to  utter  my  last,  my  earnest  prayer.  Come  back,  my 
friend,  to  your  literary  labors.  That  gift  came  to  you  from  the  source 
from  which  all  comes  to  us.  Ah,  how  happy  I  should  be  could  I  think 
you  would  listen  to  my  entreaty  !  My  friend,  great  writer  of  our  Rus- 
sian land,  respond  to  it,  obey  it!" 

Turgenev's  life  covered  a  most  tragic  period  of  Russian  history, 
and  his  writings  reflect  a  deep  melancholy.  The  Danish  critic 
Georg  Brandes  points  out  that  Turgenev's  personality  "is  always 
sadness — a  specific  sadness  without  a  trace  of  sentimentality.  .  .  . 
Turgenev's  melancholy  is,  in  its  substance,  the  melancholy  of  the 
Slavonian  races  ;  in  its  weakness  and  tragical  aspect,  it  is  a  descend- 
ant in  a  straight  line  from  the  melancholy  of  the  Slavonian  folk 
song."  In  his  novels  the  passion  of  love  is,  broadly  speaking,  the 
chief  motive.  He  made  a  close  study  of  the  human  heart,  and  he 
possessed  a  marvelous  understanding  of  the  impulses  of  both  men 
and  women.  Turgenev  is  instinct  with  poetry  and  imagination — 
more  so  than  any  other  Russian  novelist.  There  is  little  of  the 
fantastic  in  his  themes.  He  paints  all  classes  of  the  Russian  pe<iple 
impartially ;  in  his  study  of  the  peasant — his  piety,  his  simplicity, 
his  patience,  his  unhappiness — he  is  especially  successful.  He  draws 


3o6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

wonderful  pictures  of  Russia,  its  aspect  in  summer  and  winter,  the 
earth,  the  field,  the  forest,  the  vast  stretches  of  open  country. 

The  English  edition  of  Turgenev's  writings  comprises  some  eleven 
volumes  of  sketches,  short  stories,  and  novels.  Those  who  enjoy 
reading  all  of  a  writer's  books  will  feel  richly  repaid  in  under- 
taking Turgenev  and  will  find  that  his  work  is  more  equal  and 
consistent  than,  for  example,  that  of  Hugo  and  Balzac  or  Scott  and 
Thackeray.  His  novels,  to  be  sure,  are  novels  of  character  rather 
than  of  incident,  and  each,  generally  speaking,  is  a  succession 
of  scenes  designed  to  further  the  reader's  understanding  of  the 
characters. 

Six  novels,  the  earliest  written  in  1855  and  the  latest  in  1876, 
are  generally  considered  Turgenev's  chief  works.  We  name  them 
in  the  order  in  which  Turgenev  himself  wished  them  to  be  read : 
"Rudin,"  "A  Nobleman's  Nest,"  "On  the  Eve,"  "Fathers  and 
Children,"  "Smoke,"  and  "Virgin  Soil."  Another,  though  not  quite 
belonging  to  this  succession,  has  equal  merit — "Spring  Freshets." 
Of  these  seven  novels,  "  Fathers  and  Children,"  while  not  the  most 
pleasing,  stands  out  as  Turgenev's  masterpiece.  The  characters  in 
these  famous  stories  typify  the  Russian  people  in  their  strength  and 
weakness.  But  they  are  more  than  types — they  are  men  and 
women  of  flesh  and  blood,  and  they  dominate  the  scene,  for  better 
or  for  worse,  just  as  surely,  for  instance,  as  does  Becky  Sharp  in 
"  Vanity  Fair."  The  mere  titles  of  Turgenev's  novels  will  bring  to  the 
reader's  mind  a  number  of  unforgetable  scenes  and  a  number  of 
wonderfully  drawn  characters :  Rudin  the  weak-willed,  Lavretsky, 
Insarov,  Bazarov,  and  Nezhdanov ;  and  among  the  remarkable 
women  characters,  Natalya,  Elena,  Gemma,  Marianna,  and,  most 
pleasing  of  all,  the  pure  and  gentle  Lisa.  Our  list  is  of  course  far 
from  complete.  The  genius  of  Turgenev  is  nowhere  more  marked 
than  in  the  skillful  manner  in  which  one  character  appears  as  a  foil 
to  another,  as  Bazarov  and  Arkady  in  "Fathers  and  Children," 
Nezhdanov  and  Solomin  in  "Virgin  Soil,"  and,  quite  marvelously, 
the  simple-minded  Italian  girl  Gemma  and  the  designing  and 
crafty  INIaria  in  "Spring  Freshets."  Turgenev  has  created  a  great 
gallery  of  full-length  portraits  of  real  men  and  women. 


RUSSIAN  LITERATURE 


307 


DOSTOEVSKY 

Feodor  Dostoevsky  (1821-1881)  owed  much  to  his  parents,  who 
were  people  of  probity,  devoutly  religious  and  well  educated.  His 
home  was  in  Moscow ;  during  his  boyhood  he  spent  his  summers 
in  the  country,  where  he 
learned  to  love  nature  and 
to  appreciate  the  calm  en- 
durance of  the  Russian 
peasant ;  he  secured  a  good 
education,  including  three 
years  in  St.  Petersburg  in 
the  government  school  of 
engineers.  All  these  things 
were  assets ;  but  he  labored 
under  terrible  handicaps, 
and  his  was  on  the  whole  a 
sad  and  tragic  life.  From 
his  youth  to  his  old  age  he 
knew  the  cruel  pressure  of 
poverty,  debt,  and  anxiety. 
Constant  ill  health,  epilep- 
tic attacks,  and  mental  suf- 
fering were  his  portion. 
When  the  French  critic 
VogiJe  saw  him  at  the  close 
of  his  life  he  described  him  , 

as  "short,  lean,  neurotic,  worn  and  bowed  down  with  sixty  years  of 
misfortune.  .  .  .  Eyelids,lips,andevery  muscle  of  his  face  twitched 
nervously  the  whole  time.  When  he  became  excited  on  a  certain 
point,  one  could  have  sworn  that  one  had  seen  him  before  seated  on 
a  bench  in  a  police  court  awaiting  trial,  or  among  vagabonds  who 
passed  their  time  begging  before  the  prison  doors.  At  all  other 
times  he  carried  that  look  of  sad  and  gentle  meekness  seen  on  the 
images  of  old  Slavonic  saints."  The  accompanying  portrait  of 
Dostoevsky  seems  to  bear  out  this  description. 


FEODOR   DOSTOEVSKY 


3o8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

When  Dostoevsky  was  twenty-four  he  wrote  "Poor  People,"  a 
novel  in  the  form  of  letters.  ''I  wrote  it,"  he  said  later,  ''with  pas- 
sion and  almost  with  tears."  Capable  judges,  like  Nekrasov  and 
the  critic  Bylinsky,  felt  its  power ;  their  enthusiasm  was  that  of  all 
the  reading  public  of  Russia  on  the  appearance  of  the  book.  But 
Dostoevsky 's  numerous  writings  in  the  years  that  immediately  fol- 
lowed brought  him  no  added  fame.  Then  came  a  serious  personal 
catastrophe.  In  April,  1849,  ^^  was  arrested  for  participating  in 
socialistic  discussions,  and  after  eight  months  in  prison  was  tried 
and  with  twenty-one  others  condemned  to  death.  He  later  de- 
scribed the  terrific  moment  when  he  stood  in  front  of  the  scaffold 
awaiting  his  turn.  The  Tsar  at  the  last  minute  commuted  the  sen- 
tence to  "four  years  at  forced  labor  in  prison;  after  that,  to  serve 
as  a  common  soldier."  In  Siberia  he  was  a  member  of  a  chain 
gang  and  was  thrown  with  the  lowest  criminals  and  assassins.  When, 
in  1859,  after  his  military  service,  he  returned  to  Russia,  Dostoev- 
sky had  had  his  baptism  of  lire  and  in  all  essentials  was  what  he 
continued  to  be  to  the  end  of  his  life.  He  had  a  delicate,  sensitive 
organism ;  he  was  without  pride  or  envy  or  scorn ;  he  possessed  a 
deeply  religious  nature,  a  warm  and  generous  heart,  genuine  pity 
and  sympathy  for  all  downtrodden  and  outcast  men  and  women,  a 
natural  love  for  children.  It  should  also  be  said,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  he  had  a  strain  of  morbidness  and  incoherence  and  an  uncanny 
interest  in  moral  and  psychical  disease  that  tempted  him  to  analyze 
the  mental  processes  of  the  most  repulsive  types  of  mankind. 

"Memoirs  from  the  House  of  Death"  (1858),  the  realistic  ac- 
count of  Dostoevsky 's  experiences  in  Siberia,  was  followed  by  many 
other  writings,  including  the  chief  works  of  his  later  years :  "Crime 
and  Punishment "  ( 1 866 ) ,  "  The  Idiot  "(1868),  and  "  The  Brothers 
Karamazov"  (1879-1880),  which  was  left  unfinished  at  his  death. 
In  1880  his  oration  on  Pushkin,  prepared  for  the  unveiling  of  the 
poet's  monument  in  :\Ioscow,  gave  Dostoevsky  the  greatest  literary 
ovation  that  had  been  known  in  Russia.  When  he  died  the  next 
year,  a  great  concourse  of  forty  thousand  persons  from  all  ranks  of 
society  followed  his  coffin  to  the  grave. 


RUSSIAN  LITERATURE  309 

Dostoevsky  is  not  a  literary  artist.  He  breaks  every  canon  of 
taste.  He  is  slovenly,  verbose,  sensational,  fantastic,  and  frequently 
unwholesome.  He  did  not  attempt  to  draw  a  picture  of  the  peasant ; 
his  views  of  aristocratic  life  are  unconvincing.  Circumstances  forced 
him  to  write  under  constant  pressure ;  he  has  the  journalist's  faults 
and  the  journalist's  style.  But  he  carries  along  with  him  in  all  his 
writings  a  sense  of  power  that  is  all  but  unequaled.  It  may  be 
futile  to  compare  him  with  writers  of  his  own  and  other  nations. 
However,  Dostoevsky  at  his  highest  level  is  an  extraordinary  writer 
and  thinker,  who  introduces  in  all  of  his  best  works  passages  of 
pure  genius,  deep  insight,  rare  beauty.  The  reader  of  such  a  book 
as  "Crime  and  Punishment,"  generally  regarded  as  his  masterpiece, 
is  in  a  breathless  state  most  of  the  time,  for  the  subject,  the  suc- 
cession of  events,  the'characters  (especially  the  central  figure  Ras- 
kolnikov),  seem  to  transcend  everything  in  his  experience. 

"The  room  was  filling,  the  door  stood  open,  and  on  the  landing  and 
on  the  stairs  here,  there,  everywhere — people,  living  people,  they  looked, 
looked  on  in  silence.  His  heart  stood  still,  his  feet  were  leaden — he 
wished  to  cry,  and  woke.  He  breathed  with  an  effort,  but  he  fancied 
he  was  still  dreaming,  when  he  perceived,  in  the  doorway  of  his  room, 
a  man  whom  he  had  never  seen  before,  and  who  was  carefully  watching 
him.  Raskolnikov  had  not  as  yet  had  time  to  open  his  eyes  wide  before 
he  once  more  closed  them.  Lying  on  his  back  he  scarcely  moved.  'Am 
I  still  dreaming  ? '  he  thought,  and  gently  raised  his  eyelids  to  cast  a 
timid  glance  at  the  stranger.  The  latter,  continuing  in  the  same  place, 
went  on  with  his  inspection.  Suddenly  he  entered,  gently  closed  the 
door  behind  him,  approached  the  table,  and,  after  a  moment's  interval, 
sat  down  quietly  on  a  chair  near  the  couch.  During  the  whole  time  he 
had  not  taken  his  eyes  off  Raskolnikov." 

Speaking  of  "Crime  and  Punishment"  in  one  of  his  letters  Lafcadio 
Hearn  says:  "It  is  a  crucifying  thing  to  read,  but  it  goes  down  to 
the  deepest  fibers  in  a  man's  heart."  The  punishment,  as  the  reader 
feels  instinctively,  begins  before  Raskolnikov  commits  the  dastardly 
crime,  and  it  continues  until  he  gives  himself  up  to  justice.  Sonia 
also  makes  a  deep  impression — Sonia,  the  soiled  but  pure  maiden 


310  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

whose  sad  life  is  a  series  of  sacrifices.  In  ''The  Brothers  Kara- 
mazov,"  which  at  points  surpasses  anything  in  "Crime  and  Punish- 
ment," the  character  of  Aloysha  is  drawn  with  consummate  skill. 
The  book  was  the  result  of  ten  years  of  thought  on  the  part  of  the 
author. 

Evelyn  Underhill's  sonnet  "On  Reading  Dostoevsky"  seems  to 
sum  up  the  whole  matter: 

"Here's  a  new  soul  unveiled,  all  trembling  fire; 
As  fire  unstable,  eager,  tender,  fierce ; 
With  sudden  pains  our  sodden  thought  to  pierce 
And  lights  and  ardors  apt  for  all  desire. 
Here's  sordid,  holy  man,  all  mind  and  mire, 
Deep  wells  are  here  for  storing  of  slow  tears, 
Grey  sterile  tracks  down-trodden  by  hard  years, 
Quick  saving  dreams  that  from  the  slime  aspire. 

"And  as  some  tarnished  mirror  full  of  flaws, 
Strange  crooked  faults,  deep  cracks  that  twist  the  rays. 
May  catch  the  sunny  splendor,  and  because 
Of  those  same  scars,  flash  back  a  sparkling  light ; 
So,  keen  and  fair,  to  mock  our  scornful  sight. 
This  broken  glass  the  Kingly  Face  displays." 

Tolstoy 

Henry  James  has  said,  "The  perusal  of  Tolstoy — a  wonderful 
mass  of  life — is  an  immense  event,  a  kind  of  splendid  accident,  for 
each  of  us."  Since  Goethe  there  has  been  no  such  commanding  fig- 
ure in  Europe.  Tolstoy  possesses  a  universality  that  Goethe  with 
all  his  superb  gifts  lacks.  Furthermore,  he  belongs  to  our  own 
times,  and  though  we  may  not  accept  fully  his  political,  social,  and 
religious  ideas,  a  study  of  his  writings  is  like  taking  an  intellectual 
and  spiritual  tonic.  The  literary  work  of  many  other  leading  nine- 
teenth-century writers  can  be  spared  sooner  than  that  of  Tolstoy. 
Kropotkin  remarks: 

"He  has  fearlessly  stated  the  moral  aspects  of  all  the  burning  ques- 
tions of  the  day.  in  a  form  so  deeply  impressive  that  whoever  has  read 
any  one  of  his  writings  can  no  longer  forget  these  questions  or  set  them 


RUSSIAN  LITERATURE 


311 


aside ;  one  feels  the  necessity  of  finding,  in  one  way  or  another,  some 
solution.  Tolstoy's  influence,  consequently,  is  not  one  which  may  be 
measured  by  mere  years  or  decades  of  years :  it  will  last  long." 

Leo  Tolstoy  was  born  at  Yasnaya  Polyana,  in  the  province  of 
Tula  in  south-central  Russia,  August  28,  1828.  His  parents  died 
early  ;  his  upbringing  and 
education  were  left  mainly 
to  an  aunt.  The  boy  was 
plain  in  appearance,  of 
a  highly  sensitive  nature, 
and  proved  an  omnivorous 
reader.  An  illuminating 
picture  of  these  early 
days  is  afforded  in  "  Child- 
hood," "Boyhood,"  and 
"Youth,"  three  autobio- 
graphical sketches  which 
he  wrote  later.  At  the  age 
of  fifteen  he  entered  the 
University  of  Kazan — 
not  a  fortunate  choice,  for 
scarcely  one  of  his  profes- 
sors proved  capable.  The 
boy  had,  however,  devel- 
oped a  marked  individual- 
ity. His  reading  included 
French,  English,  and  Amer- 
ican books  as  well  as  Rus- 
sian.   In  1847  he  went  to 

St.  Petersburg  and  entered  the  department  of  law  in  the  university 
there.  His  diary  and  other  documents  give  us  full  information 
regarding  the  inner  conflict  of  those  years:  his  gambling,  sensu- 
ality, and  other  vices  are  as  frankly  mentioned  as  his  nobler  im- 
pulses. Tolstoy  shook  himself  free  from  city  life  in  185 1  and 
visited  the  Caucasus,  where  he  joined  an  artillery  regiment  and 
saw  service  in  a  small  way  in  that  region  and  later  on  a  larger 


LEO  TOLSTOY 


312  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

scale  in  Sevastopol  during  the  Crimean  War.  His  hand-to-hand 
experiences  with  modern  warfare  are  realistically  described  in  the 
sketches  which  brought  him  his  first  success  as  an  author. 

After  resigning  from  the  service  Tolstoy  returned  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, where,  as  a  literary  lion,  he  mixed  in  the  gay  life  of  the  capital, 
disturbed,  however,  by  prolonged  fits  of  mental  unrest.  He  took  a 
genuine  interest  in  the  Russian  popular  movement,  which  was  at 
that  time  gaining  rapid  headway,  and  he  sought  in  foreign  travel  to 
enlarge  his  ideas  and  education.  Before  long  he  was  settled  on  his 
country  estate,  which  he  made  his  home  during  the  entire  subse- 
quent period  of  his  life.  Tolstoy's  understanding  of  the  Russian 
peasants  and  his  disinterested  service  in  their  behalf  are  very  inter- 
esting features  in  his  career ;  he  taught  the  peasant  much,  but  the 
contribution  of  the  peasant  to  his  own  thought  was  even  more 
significant. 

Tolstoy's  marriage  in  his  thirty-fourth  year  to  Sophia  Behrs  was 
the  most  fortunate  step  of  his  life.  The  years  that  followed  were 
full  of  activity,  devoted  to  his  home  life,  to  work  on  his  estate,  and 
to  his  literary  labors.  "War  and  Peace"  (1865-1868)  and  ''Anna 
Karenina"  (1875-1878),  his  chief  works,  were  the  fruit  of  those 
years. 

Then  came  a  remarkable  development  in  Tolstoy's  inner  life. 
After  innumerable  mental  struggles  and  the  most  searching  ex- 
amination of  his  entire  philosophy  of  life,  he  accepted  with  the 
greatest  completeness  the  practical  teachings  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus, 
and  in  due  time  renounced  the  life  of  his  own  class  and  lived  the 
life  of  a  peasant.  His  writings  lost  none  of  their  simplicity  and 
beauty  of  literary  expression,  but  he  was  now  concerned  with  re- 
ligious autobiography,  philosophy,  political  and  social  tracts,  short 
stories  and  dramas  with  a  purpose,  and  peasant  tales  designed  to 
aid  the  common  people.  After  a  long  period  he  produced,  in  1899, 
another  powerful  novel,  "Resurrection,"  written  to  aid  the  Douk- 
hobors,  a  Russian  sect  with  pacifist  convictions.  Tolstoy  was  now 
universally  honored,  and  the  portrait  of  his  rugged  patriarchal  fig- 
ure in  peasant  costume  was  well  known  throughout  Europe  and 
America.    He  died  November  20,  19 10,  a  few  days  after  he  had 


RUSSIAN  LITERATURE  313 

left  home  on  a  journey  undertaken  with  the  idea  of  ending  his  life 
in  complete  retirement,  such  as  his  home  could  not  furnish. 

Any  study  of  Tolstoy,  undertaken  even  on  a  small  scale,  must 
inevitably  devote  attention  to  some  of  his  characteristic  ideas.  He 
believed  in  the  dignity  and  necessity  of  labor.  "Let  us  work,"  he 
said,  "with  all  our  might  physically,  and  struggle  with  the  forces  of 
nature  for  the  maintenance  of  our  own  lives  and  the  lives  of  others." 
Acting  upon  this  conviction,  he  devoted  much  time  to  simple  manual 
labor,  ''No  man,"  says  William  Dean  Howells,  "so  gloriously  gifted 
and  so  splendidly  placed  has  bowed  his  neck  and  taken  the  yoke 
upon  it.  We  must  recognize  Tolstoy  as  one  of  the  greatest  men  of 
all  time,  before  we  can  measure  the  extent  of  his  renunciation.  He 
was  gifted,  noble,  rich,  famous,  honored,  courted  ;  and  he  has  done 
his  utmost  to  become  plebeian,  poor,  obscure,  neglected."  Add  to 
this  Tolstoy's  distinct  altruistic  purpose :  "The  whole  aim  of  life," 
he  said,  "is  self-sacrificing  labor  for  others."  This  doctrine  is  set 
forth  winsomely  at  many  points  in  his  writings ;  for  example,  in  his 
short  stories  "Where  Love  is,  there  God  is  Also"  and  "The  Two 
Old  Men."  He  was  following,  of  course,  the  teachings  of  Jesus  in 
this,  as  in  many  other  particulars.  He  urged  the  recognition  of  the 
equality  of  all  men  ;  he  taught  nonresistance.  a  life  free  from  anger 
and  passion  and  full  of  love.  From  his  study  of  religious  and  ethi- 
cal beliefs  of  various  periods  he  worked  out  more  simply  and  nat- 
urally than  any  man  of  his  time  the  elements  of  a  universal  religion. 

Tolstoy  in  "The  Cossacks"  and  elsewhere  displays  his  dislike  for 
the  artificial  life  of  the  city  and  his  delight  in  the  freedom  of  nature. 
In  "Sevastopol,"  and  again  at  greater  length  in  "War  and  Peace," 
he  sets  forth  his  conception  of  war  and  of  history.  A  number  of  his 
writings  are  thinly  disguised  tracts  against  wealth  and  aristocracy. 
An  organized  State  and  an  organized  Church  were  alike  distaste- 
ful to  him ;  he  was  instinctively  an  anarchist  and  a  dissenter. 
"Resurrection"  conveys  a  powerful  judgment  passed  on  the  exist- 
ing Institutions  of  modern  life.  In  "The  Kreutzer  Sonata"  most 
strikingly,  but  at  many  other  places  in  his  writings  as  well,  Tolstoy 
explains  his  attitude  toward  love  and  marriage.  Again  we  quote 
Howells : 


314  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"In  most  other  novelists,  passion  is  treated  as  if  it  were  something 
important  in  itself,— as  if  its  intensity  were  a  merit  and  its  abandon 
were  a  virtue,  its  fruition  Paradise,  its  defeat  perdition.  But  in  Tol- 
stoy, almost  for  the  first  time,  we  are  shown  that  passion  is  merely  a 
condition  and  that  it  has  almost  nothing  to  do  with  happiness." 

The  mere  magnitude  of  Tolstoy's  writings  renders  it  difficult  for 
the  reader  to  make  a  suitable  selection.  Of  the  early  works  "Child- 
hood," "Boyhood,"  "Youth,"  and  "The  Cossacks"  are  perhaps  the 
most  rewarding.  Those  who  wish  to  learn  the  essence  of  Tol- 
stoy's religious  conceptions  should  read  "Confession,"  "My  Faith," 
"\\Tiat  is  to  be  Done,"  and  "Christian  Teaching,"  in  the  order 
named.  Among  Tolstoy's  justly  celebrated  short  stories  are  the  two 
already  named  above  and  "Master  and  Man"  and  "How  Much 
Land  is  Required  for  a  Man";  but  almost  all  his  short  stories 
and  tales  are  significant.  Tolstoy's  three  great  novels  are  his  chief 
claim  to  distinction  as  a  writer.  "War  and  Peace,"  a  veritable 
leviathan,  as  one  of  his  interpreters  calls  it,  fills  six  considerable 
volumes  and  is  the  most  impressive  of  all  historical  novels.  It  gathers 
together  the  innumerable  details  of  Russian  life  and  describes  with 
great  particularity  and  vividness  the  history  of  the  early  nineteenth 
century.  The  masses  are  frankly  presented  as  of  more  importance 
than  war  heroes.  With  its  hundred  or  more  clearly  differentiated 
characters  it  gives  the  effect  of  a  vast  panorama.  Kropotkin  tells 
us  that  the  reading  of  nearly  every  scene  of  the  book  is  for  educated 
Russians  "a  source  of  indescribable  aesthetic  pleasure."  When  the 
novel  "Resurrection"  appeared,  Tolstoy  was  over  seventy  years  of 
age,  but  it  is  a  marvelous  work  showing  the  author's  splendid  crea- 
tive powers  unimpaired.  The  hero,  Nekludov,  called  upon  to  serve 
as  a  juror,  discovers  in  the  criminal  at  the  bar  the  woman  he  had 
betrayed  in  his  youth.  Believing  himself  responsible  for  her  down- 
fall and  for  all  the  evils  of  her  life,  he  resolves  to  share  her  fate 
and  he  accompanies  her  to  Siberia.  Such  is  the  theme  of  this  mov- 
ing and  pathetic  story. 

"Anna  Karenina,"  the  novel  produced  in  Tolstoy's  middle  years, 
is  considered  by  common  consent  his  masterpiece.  Few  will  deny 
it  a  place  among  the  chief  novels  of  the  world.    "I  beUeve,"  says 


RUSSIAN  LITERATURE  315 

Professor  William  Lyon  Phelps,  ''that  the  average  man  can  learn 
more  about  life  by  reading  'Anna  Karenina'  than  he  can  by  his 
own  observations  and  experience."  Most  of  its  characters  were 
taken  from  life,  and  every  page  has  a  reality  that  is  unescapable. 
Levin  is  clearly  Tolstoy,  without  apology  or  extenuation.  It  is 
easy  to  find  fault  with  the  work  on  the  score  that  it  is  too  diffuse ; 
that  the  plot  hangs  but  loosely  together ;  that  the  author  obtrudes 
his  own  ideas  too  frequently ;  that  physical  matters  related  to  the 
characters,  such  as  cracking  knuckles,  outstanding  ears,  lifted  eye- 
brows, blushes,  the  hideous  details  of  illness,  etc.,  are  dwelt  upon 
more  than  is  fitting ;  that  the  Kitty  and  Levin  passages  are  on  too 
commonplace  a  level ;  and  that  incidents  which  may  be  expected  to 
lead  to  something  important  end  nowhere.  But  the  reader  soon 
finds  that  this  great  work  is  a  piece  of  life  itself,  and  it  dwells  in 
his  memory  as  something  that  belongs  to  his  own  personal  career. 
Tolstoy  is  at  home  in  describing  all  classes  of  society.  We  encounter 
in  the  book  aristocracy  at  its  best,  and  again  that  of  the  worst,  most 
doubtful,  and  most  depraved  type.  City  life  in  ]\Ioscow  and  St. 
Petersburg  is  described,  with  balls,  receptions,  clubs,  theaters,  races, 
debts.  There  are  married  happiness  and  married  unhappiness.  The 
summer  outing  place,  the  country  home,  the  problems  of  the  farm, 
the  delight  in  the  land  and  the  produce  of  the  land, — all  these  mat- 
ters are  faithfully  described.  We  get  a  powerful  impression  also  of 
the  drudgery  of  life,  the  dullness  of  the  peasant,  the  agony  of  the 
soul  approaching  death,  the  great  sacrifices  of  even  lowly  folk,  the 
pitiful  domestic  tragedies  of  the  mismated.  Above  all,  Anna  her- 
self, as  she  passes  from  happiness  to  disillusion,  approaching  misery, 
and  ultimate  destruction,  engages  the  reader's  deepest  interest  and 
sympathy.  Endowed  as  Anna  is  with  beauty,  rich  personal  gifts, 
and  social  position,  life  to  her  (as  the  story  opens)  is  dull  enough, 
and  her  emotional  nature  is  starved.  At  Moscow  she  meets  the 
young,  brilliant,  handsome  officer  Vronsky.  Life  now  opens  up  sur- 
prising vistas.  Back  at  home  again,  she  cannot  help  contrasting  her 
middle-aged  husband  Karenin,  absurdly  commonplace  and  proper, 
with  her  new-found  friend.  By  slow  degrees  her  duty  to  Karenin 
and  her  love  for  her  son  seem  less  important  and  are  lost  in  the 


3i6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

overwhelming  experience  that  offers  itself.  But  in  Italy,  where 
she  and  Vronsky  seek  asylum,  there  come  doubt,  and  a  loss  of  secu- 
rity, and  homesickness.  Happiness  hangs  on  a  thread.  A  hasty 
return  and  a  stolen  interview  with  her  son  only  accentuate  her  dif- 
ficulties. She  feels  that  her  old  life  is  lost,  that  Vronsky's  love  is 
uncertain,  that  her  ideals  are  crushed,  and  that  suicide  is  the  only 
solution  to  the  terrible  enigma  of  her  life.  The  opportunity  comes 
as  she  stands  in  hopeless  misery  beside  the  moving  train. 

"""There,'  she  said,  looking  at  the  shadow  of  the  car  thrown  upon  the 
black  coal-dust  which  covered  the  sleepers,  'there,  in  the  center;  he 
will  be  punished,  and  I  shall  be  delivered  from  it  all  .  .  .  and  from 
myself.' 

""She  was  going  to  throw  herself  under  the  first  car  as  its  center  came 
opposite  where  she  stood.  Her  little  red  traveling-bag  caused  her  to 
lose  the  moment ;  she  could  not  detach  it  from  her  arm.  She  awaited 
the  second.  A  feeling  like  that  she  had  experienced  once,  just  before 
taking  a  dive  in  the  river,  came  over  her,  and  she  made  the  sign  of  the 
cross.  This  familiar  gesture  called  back  to  her  soul  a  whole  series  of 
memories  of  her  youth  and  childhood ;  and  suddenly  the  darkness  which 
hid  everything  from  her  was  torn  asunder.  Life,  with  its  elusive  joys, 
glowed  for  an  instant  before  her.  But  she  did  not  take  her  eyes  from 
the  car;  and  when  the  center,  between  the  two  wheels,  appeared,  she 
threw  away  her  red  bag,  drawing  her  head  between  her  shoulders,  and, 
with  outstretched  hands,  threw  herself  on  her  knees  under  the  car.  For 
a  second  she  was  horror-struck  at  what  she  was  doing. 

"""Where  am  I?    What  am  I  doing?    Why*?' 

"She  tried  to  get  up,  to  draw  back;  but  something  monstrous,  in- 
flexible, struck  her  head  and  threw  her  on  her  back. 

""'Lord,  forgive  me  all!'  she  murmured,  feeling  the  struggle  to  be 
in  vain. 

"A  little  muzhik  was  working  on  the  railroad,  mumbling  in  his  beard. 

""And  the  candle  by  which  she  had  read  the  book  that  was  filled  with 
fears,  with  deceptions,  with  anguish,  and  with  evil,  flared  up  with 
greater  brightness  than  she  had  ever  known,  revealing  to  her  all  that 
before  was  in  darkness,  then  flickered,  grew  faint,  and  went  out 
forever." 


RUSSIAN  LITERATURE  317 

Other  Forms  of  Literature 

The  drama,  long  a  popular  form  of  art  in  Russia,  developed 
rapidly  in  the  nineteenth  century.  Griboedov  (1795-1829)  gave  to 
Russia  its  earliest  native  comedy  of  first-rate  importance — "The 
Woes  of  Wit,"  which  appeared  by  a  singular  chance  the  same  year 
(1825)  as  Pushkin's  historic  drama  ''Boris  Godunov,"  Griboedov's 
comedy  is  deeply  satirical  and  is  leveled  against  the  Moscow  so- 
ciety of  his  day.  It  is  cleverly  developed,  and  written  in  pure 
Russian;  it  remains  a  favorite  in  Russia  to  this  day.  Ostrovsky 
(1823-1886),  the  greatest  dramatist  of  his  country,  produced 
about  fifty  dramas  and  comedies,  of  which  two  are  of  special  sig- 
nilicance — "Poverty  is  No  Crime,"  a  human  and  realistic  play, 
and  "The  Storm,"  a  powerful  drama  almost  perfect  in  crafts- 
manship, essentially  Russian  but  with  universal  qualities.  The 
character  of  Katharine  in  the  latter  play  is  a  profound  study.  Men- 
tion has  already  been  made  of  Gogol's  "The  Inspector-General." 
Turgenev  wrote  five  lively  comedies,  and  Tolstoy  two  somber 
tragedies.  Alexei  Tolstoy's  three  historic  tragedies,  forming  a 
trilogy,  have  both  romantic  and  realistic  elements.  Among  recent 
dramatists  Potekhin  (1829-1902),  a  writer  of  comedies,  and  Chek- 
hov and  Gorky  have  an  honorable  place.  The  last  two  writers  are 
better  known  in  other  fields,  but  Chekhov's  "Cherry  Orchard," 
Gorky's  "The  Lower  Depths,"  and  a  few  of  Andreev's  plays  are 
extraordinary  productions,  esteemed  in  Russia  and  elsewhere. 

As  Russia  is  a  land  of  thinking  men,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
literary  criticism  has  had  many  exponents.  Among  critics  Bylinsky 
(181 1-1848)  towers  above  the  rest.  Philosophy,  history,  and  liter- 
ary art  were  his  natural  fields.  Not  only  was  he  a  critic  of  great 
moment  in  his  day  and  a  great  master  of  style  but  a  man  of  noble 
character.  His  successors  numbered  some  gifted  men,  but  they 
cannot  receive  attention  in  our  brief  sketch.  However,  Merej- 
kowski  and  Kropotkin,  because  of  their  Russian  literary  criticism 
so  widely  read  in  English  translations,  certainly  deserve  mention. 
Kropotkin's  "Ideals  and  Realities  in  Russian  Literature"  is  a  work 
almost  perfect  in  its  kind. 


3i8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Among  political  writers  Herzen  (1812-1870)  took  an  important 
place.  He  was  a  profound  thinker  and  a  revolutionist.  He  proved 
an  influential  force  among  Russians  through  his  journalistic  work 
in  Paris  and  London.  His  memoirs,  "Past  Facts  and  Thoughts," 
are  valuable  historically  and  are  remarkable  for  their  many  literary 
excellences.  Tchernyshevsky  (182 8-1 889),  another  indefatigable 
worker  in  the  cause  of  Russian  freedom,  wrote  voluminously.  He 
was  useful  as  an  economist  and  educator.  His  story  "What  is  to 
be  Done?"  written  in  prison,  more  of  an  economic  document  than 
a  novel,  has  had  an  enormous  circulation. 

Recent  Novelists 

The  list  of  Russian  writers  during  the  recent  period  is  a  long 
one ;  we  can  refer  to  only  a  few. 

Anton  Chekhov  (1860-1904),  a  native  of  south  Russia,  well 
educated,  a  member  of  the  medical  profession,  a  generous-hearted, 
fun-loving  man,  whose  brief  career  was  marked  by  kindly  deeds, 
has  left  a  large  number  of  stories  and  plays.  It  may  still  be  too  early 
to  determine  his  place  in  the  Russian  pantheon  of  letters,  but  he 
has  many  admirers  throughout  Europe  and  America  and  is  con- 
sidered widely  as  Russia's  foremost  short-story  writer.  One  must 
not  expect  to  find,  as  a  rule,  a  lightsome  quality  in  Chekhov's 
stories — he  reflects  the  prevailing  gloom  of  his  time.  He  has  won- 
derful descriptive  power  and  the  skill  to  compress  much  into  a  few 
lines.  With  the  true  realism  of  the  Russian  he  paints  a  picture  of 
life  as  he  sees  it.  Horror,  misery,  suffering,  find  a  place  in  the 
picture  inevitably,  but  also  imagination,  humor,  the  love  of  nature, 
and  the  love  of  children.  The  reader  would  do  well  to  run  over  a 
collection  of  Chekhov's  stories  in  order  to  see  his  range  of  charac- 
ters and  subjects  and  his  great  skill  as  a  story-teller.  "Ward 
Number  Six,"  "The  Steppe."  "A  Tiresome  Story,"  "The  Darling," 
"At  Home,"  "The  Black  Monk,"  and  others  of  his  stories  are 
well  known. 

At  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  so-called  jSIodernist 
movement,  sponsor^id  by  a  group  of  writers  of  similar  aims,  became 


RUSSIAN  LITERATURE  319 

influential  in  Russia.  The  Modernist,  as  defined  by  the  critic  Olgin, 
is  egoistic,  spreads  the  gospel  of  beauty  for  beauty's  sake,  has  a 
lack  of  interest  in  social  problems,  which  he  considers  of  minor  im- 
portance, and  is  attracted  to  religious  thought.  Merejkowski  (al- 
ready mentioned  above)  and  the  short-story  writer  Sologub  belong 
to  this  circle  of  Modernists.  The  movement  has  latterly  changed 
its  character  and  become  obscured  in  the  tremendous  onrush  of 
recent  thought.  With  the  beginning  of  the  new  century,  and 
especially  with  the  revolution  of  1905,  another  period  of  Russian 
literature  seems  to  have  been  ushered  in ;  and  this  has  not  lost 
its  force,  though  the  startling  events  of  191 7  have  changed  its 
current. 

Our  study  of  Russian  literature  will  close  with  a  brief  study  of  a 
few  writers  of  the  twentieth  century. 

Maxim  Gorky  (his  actual  name  is  Aleksei  M.  Pyeshkof)  was 
born  in  1868  and  began  to  make  himself  known  in'literature  before 
the  close  of  the  century.  His  early  years  were  years  of  vagabond- 
age, and  he  has  introduced  the  vagabond  into  Russian  literature. 
The  very  cleverness  and  novelty  of  his  work  gave  him  for  a  time 
an  extraordinary  position.  We  take  a  more  tempered  view  of  him 
in  these  days.  But  Gorky  has  not  yet  finished  his  work,  and  final 
judgment  upon  him  cannot  be  passed.  He  is  a  striking  figure  per- 
sonally ;  at  times  he  has  been  influential  in  the  councils  of  Russia. 
Gorky  has  written  much.  His  longer  novels  are  not  so  successful 
as  his  short  stories.  There  is  much  of  bitterness  and  disgust  and 
revolt,  much  of  the  sordid  and  bestial  and  hideous,  in  his  pictures. 
Yet  this  does  not  tell  the  whole  story.  His  play  "The  Lower 
Depths"  is  powerful  to  a  degree;  some  of  his  short  stories — for 
example,  "Her  Lover" — are  justly  admired;  and  the  recent  pub- 
lication of  two  volumes  of  his  autobiography,  "My  Childhood"  and 
"In  the  World,"  seems  to  many  to  constitute  a  real  literary  event. 
These  two  volumes,  with  their  five  hundred  pages  each,  carry 
Gorky's  story  fonvard  only  to  his  fifteenth  year!  Curious  pictures 
of  life  crowd  the  pages.  The  portraits  have  an  amazing  reality. 
Gorky's  grandmother  is  a  living  and  breathing  person,  the  one 
bright  spot  in  the  pathetic  childhood  so  vividly  described.    She  is 


320  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

drawn  completely,  even  to  her  bulbous  nose,  but  the  picture  is  a 
loving  one.  "Until  she  came  into  my  life,"  says  Gorky,  "I  seemed 
to  have  been  asleep,  and  hidden  away  in  obscurity ;  but  when  she 
appeared  she  woke  me  and  led  me  to  the  light  of  day.  Connecting 
all  my  impressions  by  a  single  thread,  she  wove  them  into  a  pat- 
tern of  many  colors,  thus  making  herself  my  friend  for  life,  the 
being  nearest  my  heart,  the  dearest  and  best  known  of  all ;  while 
her  disinterested  love  for  all  creation  enriched  me,  and  built  up  the 
strength  needful  for  a  hard  life." 

Leonid  Andreev  (1871-1919)  has  also  recorded  the  grief  and 
sorrow  of  Russia.  He  challenges  God  and  man,  and  he  dwells  in 
the  shadow.  His  enthusiasm  for  Nietzsche  is  significant.  Like 
Tolstoy  and  like  that  other  gifted  Russian  writer  Garshin,  Andreev 
has  depicted  vividly  the  misery  and  uselessness  of  war ;  his  story 
"The  Red  Laugh"  is  a  powerful  indictment  of  it.  Andreev  is 
more  of  an  artist  than  Gorky.  Each  of  his  stories  and  plays  pre- 
sents a  problem.  A  number  of  his  works  have  now  been  translated 
into  English. 

Three  other  men  are  considerable  factors  in  recent  Russian  lit- 
erature. Chirikov,  while  not  a  great  writer,  has  an  easy,  sym- 
pathetic style.  His  stories  and  plays  give  accurate  pictures  of 
provincial  life.  Kuprin  exhibits  also  a  healthy  and  invigorating 
realism.  His  characters  are  varied  and  attractive,  though  the  sad- 
ness of  Russia  permeates  his  stories.  Artzybashev's  sensational 
novel  "Sanin"  reveals  the  disillusionment  so  general  after  the 
failure  of  the  revolution  of  1905  ;  it  touches  the  depths. 

When  in  1919  Madame  Catherine  Breshkovsky  visited  America, 
many  heard  that  great  Russian  woman — great  in  character  and 
great  in  suffering.  We  were  deeply  impressed  by  her  thoughtful 
and  wistful  query  "What  to  do?  what  to  do?"  It  is  the  very 
phrase  which  has  been  used  repeatedly  by  the  chief  writers  of« 
her  country,  and  it  expresses  the  earnest  longing  of  the  Russian, 
who,  amid  untold  difficulties,  is  still  seeking  the  solution  of  his 
national  problems. 


RUSSIAN  LITEIL\TURE  321 


Reference  List 


Baring.   The  Russian  People.    George  H.  Doran  Company. 
WiLLUMS.    Russia  of  the  Russians.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Bruckner.    Literary  History  of  Russia.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Kropotkin.    Ideals  and  Realities  in  Russian  Literature.    Alfred  A.  Knopf. 
Waliszewski.    Russian  Literature.    D.  Appleton  and  Company. 
Vogue.   The  Russian  Novel.    George  H.  Doran  Company. 
Baring.    Landmarks  in  Russian  Literature.    The  Macmillan  Company. 
Baring.    Russian  Literature  (Home  University  Library).    Henry  Holt  and 

Company. 
Olgin.    Guide  to  Russian  Literature.   Harcourt,  Brace  and  Company. 
Phelps.    Essays  on  Russian  Novelists.    The  Macmillan  Company. 
Wheeler  (Ed.).    Russian  Wonder  Tales.    A.  and  C.  Black,  London. 
Merejkowski.   Tolstoy  as  Man  and  Artist.    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 
Maude.   Life  of  Tolstoy  (2  vols.).    Dodd,  Mead  &  Company. 
BiRUKOFF.   Leo  Tolstoy.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Translations : 

Wiener's  "Anthology  of  Russian  Literature"  (2  vols.).    G.  P.  Putnam's 

Sons. 
Jarintzov's  "  Russian  Poets  and  Poems."    Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 
Deutsch  and  Yarmolinsky's  "Modern  Russian  Poets:     An  Anthology." 

Harcourt,  Brace  and  Company. 
Bechhofer's  "'.■\  Russian  Anthology  in  English."     Kegan  Paul,  Trench, 

Triibner,  &  Co.,  London. 
A  number  of  Russian  novels  in  Everyman's  Library.    E.  P.  Button  & 

Company. 
A  few  Russian  books  in  the  Modern  Library.    Boni  &  Liveright. 
Tolstoy's  works.    Thomas  Y.  Crowell  Company. 
Dostoevsky's  works.    The  Macmillan  Company. 
Turgenev's  works.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
A  few  volumes  of  Lermontov,  Gogol,  Gorky,  and  Andreev.    Alfred  A. 

Knopf. 
Goncharov's  "Oblomov.''    The  Macmillan  Company. 
Gogol's  "Dead  Souls."'    Frederick  A.  Stokes  Company. 
Chekhov's  works.    The  Macmillan  Company. 
Gorky's  autobiographical  volumes.    The  Century  Co. 

Suggested  Topics 

The  characteristics  of  the  Russian  people. 

A  study  of  Pushkin  and  other  Russian  poets. 

Gogol's  "Dead  Souls" — its  vivid  pictures  of  Russian  life. 

A  study  of  Turgenev's  "  Spring  Freshets." 


32  2  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Character  sketch  of  Raskolnikov,  in  "Crime  and  Punishment." 

The  Russian  revolutionary  movement  as  handled  in  Russian  novels. 

Tolstoy,  the  man  and  his  ideas. 

A  study  of  Anna  Karenina  and  her  tragic  fortunes. 

A  few  of  Tolstoy's  tales. 

Russian  short  stories — their  general  characteristics. 

Recent  Russian  writers. 

The  genius  of  Russian  literature. 


CHAPTER  XI 

SCANDINAVIAN   LITERATURE 

The  blood  of  the  Vikings  has  been  an  important — perhaps  the 
most  vital — element  in  the  making  of  the  English  race.  America 
owes  much  to  the  dependable  Scandinavian  folk  who  have  come  in 
such  large  numbers  to  cast  in  their  lot  with  us.  Ethnologists 
tell  us  that  the  people  of  the  Scandinavian  countries  represent  to- 
day the  purest  strain  of  that  ancient  race  which  settled  in  Europe 
so  many  centuries  ago,  and  which  has  affected  so  profoundly  the 
thought  and  civilization  of  the  whole  world.  Let  us  remember  also 
that  Northmen  produced  great  literature  as  much  as  a  thousand 
years  ago,  and  that  their  successors  have  made  in  our  own  day 
significant  contributions  to  European  letters.  On  all  accounts, 
therefore,  the  people  of  these  northern  regions  fittingly  find  a  place 
in  our  chronicle. 

Land  and  people.  The  population  of  the  Scandinavian  countries 
numbers  only  a  little  more  than  ten  million  people.  Almost  half  of 
the  territory  and  more  than  half  of  the  population  belong  to  Sweden. 
Norway  and  Denmark  have  about  two  and  a  half  million  people 
each,  while  the  population  of  Iceland  numbers  eighty-five  thou- 
sand. The  racial  Teutonic  stock  common  to  these  countries  has 
made  its  home  there  continuously  from  prehistoric  times.  The 
Scandinavians  are  related  in  race  and  language,  as  we  have  seen, 
to  other  Germanic  peoples.  Generally  speaking,  all  the  Northland 
spoke  the  same  language  until  the  tenth  century  of  the  Christian 
Era;  then  there  came  to  be  a  marked  divergence  between  the 
speech  of  Norway  and  Iceland  on  the  one  hand  and  of  Sweden  and 
Denmark  on  the  other.  From  the  fourteenth  century  forward. 
Sweden  developed  a  speech  somewhat  different  from  that  of  Den- 
mark, with  an  infusion  of  German,  French,  and  classical  words. 

323 


324  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  people  of  Iceland  speak  and  write  essentially  the  same  lan- 
guage as  did  their  ancestors  of  the  Viking  age.  Norwegian  was 
influenced  by  Swedish  and  later  by  Danish.  By  the  close  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  Danish  had  become  the  language  of  Nor- 
way. Dialectical  changes  have  since  produced  in  Norway  a  modi- 
fied speech — Dano-Norwegian,  or  Danish  with  a  considerable 
Norwegian  element. 

The  adventurous  Northmen,  largely  from  Norway,  displayed 
their  greatest  activity  in  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries.  They  set- 
tled in  the  British  Isles,  on  the  coast  of  France,  in  the  Lowlands,  on 
the  Rhine,  and  in  Finland  and  Russia.  Their  journeys  took  them  as 
far  south  as  Italy.  Runic  inscriptions  of  the  Northmen  have  been 
discovered  in  Greece,  and  some  twenty-five  thousand  Arabian  coins 
of  the  Viking  age  have  been  found  in  Sweden,  a  striking  witness  to 
the  trade  and  piracy  of  the  Vikings.  The  consolidation  of  Norway 
under  Harold  Fairhair  drove  the  flower  of  the  Norwegian  chief  tains 
to  Iceland,  where  they  settled  during  the  period  from  870  to  930 
and  took  over  the  small  Celtic  element  from  Ireland  which  had  pre- 
ceded them.  In  Denmark  the  separate  kingdoms  were  united  under 
one  government  in  the  ninth  century,  and  Christianity  was  intro- 
duced. Norway  became  Christian  at  the  end  of  the  tenth  century, 
Iceland  in  1000,  and  Sweden  a  century  later.  Iceland  joined  Nor- 
way in  1262,  and  its  remarkable  separate  history  came  to  a  close. 
Shortly  thereafter  Norway,  Denmark,  and  Iceland  were  united.  By 
the  Union  of  Calmar,  in  1397,  all  Scandinavia  came  under  one 
government.  Sweden,  however,  in  1523  dissolved  the  union.  It 
will  be  recalled  that  in  the  seventeenth  century  Sweden  became  for 
a  period  one  of  the  chief  European  powers  and  produced  a  great 
leader  in  the  person  of  Gustavus  Adolphus.  Norway  separated 
from  Denmark  in  1814,  and  until  1905  was  united  to  Sweden. 
Today  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark  have  separate  governments ; 
Iceland  and  Denmark  have  the  same  king  but  are  otherwise  not 
united  governmentally. 


MOUNTAIN   GATEWAY  OF   THE  GEIRANGERFJORD   WITH  THE 
SLENDER  STREAMS  OF  THE  "  SEVEN  SISTERS  "  FALLS,  NORWAY 


32  6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  Early  Period — Icelandic  Literature 

The  Eddas  and  sagas  of  Iceland  possess  extraordinary  interest. 
That  so  small  and  scattered  a  people,  in  such  untoward  circum- 
stances of  life  and  at  so  early  a  point  in  the  culture  of  the  North, 
could  produce  literature  of  this  order  seems  amazing  to  us.  This 
literature  is  the  treasure  house  of  the  ancient  myths,  legends,  and 
traditions  of  the  Northern  Teutonic  tribes,  and  it  records  the  chief 
history  that  has  come  down  to  us  of  the  Northern  people  for  the 
four  hundred  years  subsequent  to  860. 

The  people  of  Iceland  established  a  form  of  government  repub- 
lican in  its  nature,  with  local  assemblies,  called  Things,  and  a 
general  assembly,  the  Althing ;  but  there  was  no  involved  govern- 
mental machinery.  Efficient,  brave,  straightforward  in  speech  and 
action,  these  kingly  men  were  workers,  traders,  fighters,  at  home  in 
Iceland,  at  home  in  their  strong,  open  boats  on  the  sea,  at  home  in 
any  country  in  Europe.  The  slight  element  of  Celtic  blood  gave 
them  an  intensity  not  inherent  in  their  original  stock.  We  find  them 
passionate,  impulsive,  adventurous,  faithful  friends,  deadly  enemies 
— men  who  loved  the  flashing  sword,  the  bounding  sea,  the  realistic 
tale,  the  song  of  battle. 

In  the  early  period  there  was  no  recorded  literature.  Short  in- 
scriptions made  with  runes,  the  letters  used  by  the  old  Teutonic 
tribes,  were  the  first  writing.  With  the  coming  of  Christianity  the 
Latin  script  was  adopted,  with  the  retention  of  a  few  of  the  runes 
for  which  there  was  no  equivalent  in  Latin.  Dating  from  the  middle 
of  the  twelfth  century  a  very  considerable  body  of  literature  in 
prose  and  verse  appeared,  the  outgrowth  of  the  impulse  to  record 
the  tales  and  poems  which  the  scalds,  or  minstrels,  had  been  recit- 
ing for  many  generations. 

The  Eddas.  Two  priceless  collections  have  preserved  to  us  a 
large  body  of  the  poetry  of  that  early  time.  The  "Younger  Edda," 
so  called  (1222-1223),  was  compiled  and  in  part  composed  by 
Snorri  Sturluson,  an  Icelandic  statesman,  poet,  saga-writer,  and 
historian.  In  the  first  part  the  author,  in  the  framework  of  a  prose 
stor>',  presents  the  mythology  of  his  ancestors,  utilizing  the  old 


SCANDINAVIAN  LITERATURE  327 

current  pagan  poems.  The  second  part,  by  means  of  a  conversa- 
tion at  a  banquet,  introduces  some  three  hundred  verse  quota- 
tions to  illustrate  poetic  art  and  expression ;  hence  Edda,  that  is, 
''poetics."  In  the  third  part  we  have  a  historic  poem  in  over  one 
hundred  verses,  written  by  Snorri  himself,  together  with  a  body  of 
rules  in  prose.  The  "Younger  Edda"  is  therefore  in  essence  a 
textbook  of  poetry,  with  many  illustrative  examples. 

The  collection  of  mythological  poems  known  as  the  "Elder 
Edda"  was  attributed  originally,  though  on  slight  foundation,  to 
Saemund  the  Wise  (died  1133).  Probably  the  vellums  on  which 
this  collection  is  written  do  not  date  farther  back  than  1350.  They 
were  presented  in  1643  by  a  bishop  of  Iceland  to  the  Danish  king 
of  that  time.  The  poems  cover  a  long  period,  approximately  from 
850  to  1200;  they  originated  in  Norway  (this  portion  was  the 
larger  element),  in  Iceland,  and  in  Greenland.  We  may  think  of 
the  scalds  as  singing  before  princes,  warriors,  and  common  people 
these  somewhat  obscure  and  symbolic  mythological,  didactic,  and 
heroic  songs.  The  "Elder  Edda"  in  its  present  form  contains 
thirty-eight  poems,  written  in  alliterative  verse  and  in  three  dif- 
ferent meters.  A  number  of  these  poems  deal  with  the  heroic  and 
mythical  tale  of  Sigurd  (Siegfried)  in  the  most  ancient  form  known 
to  the  Germanic  tribes.  These  were  made  the  basis  of  the  "Vol- 
sunga  Saga."  Note  this  stanza  of  the  poem  relating  to  the  death 
of  Sigurd: 

"Gudrun  of  old  days 

Drew  near  to  dying, 

As  she  sat  in  sorrow 

Over  Sigurd ; 

Yet  she  sighed  not 

Nor  smote  hand  on  hand, 

Nor  wailed  she  aught 

As  other  women." 

From  the  "Elder  Edda"  we  gain  the  most  complete  view  avail- 
able of  the  JS'orse  mythology — of  the  creation  of  the  world,  of  the 
dwarfs  and  giants  and  Valkyries,  of  Asgard  and  Valhalla,  of  Odin, 
of  Thor  the  thunderer  and  his  hammer,  of  Balder  the  god  of  sun- 


328  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

light  and  spring,  of  Freya  the  goddess  of  love,  and  of  all  the  other 
elements  in  the  myths  of  the  Northern  people,  reaching  back  we 
know  not  how  many  generations  before  recorded  history. 

While  the  Eddas  are  in  general  inferior  to  the  sagas,  these  old 
poems  deeply  influenced  the  saga  writers,  who  drew  upon  the  themes 
of  the  Eddas  repeatedly  and  incorporated  poems  and  war  songs  in 
their  prose  narratives. 

The  sagas.  Viewed  in  its  simplest  form  the  saga  is  something 
that  is  said.  It  is  a  prose  tale  giving  the  history  of  some  note- 
worthy individual  or  family  of  Norway  or  Iceland  during  the  heroic 
period  (ending  about  1030).  In  the  more  complete  tales  many 
persons  are  introduced,  but  in  its  essence  the  saga  gives  the  life  of 
its  hero,  set  down  in  regular  fashion,  told  simply  as  a  man  talks — 
the  hero's  family,  his  youth,  his  journeys,  his  return  to  his  home, 
his  general  renown,  his  heroic  passing,  and  the  revenge  that  his 
kinsmen  took  for  his  death.  The  theme  is  not  disturbed  by  digres- 
sions, there  is  no  comment  on  the  incidents,  and  the  narrative  is 
truthful  and  vivid  with  a  reality  that  is  all  but  unparalleled. 

The  oral  period  of  the  sagas  had  closed  by  1125,  and  all  the 
greater  sagas  had  been  written  down  by  the  middle  of  the  succeed- 
ing century.  Of  the  shorter  sagas  there  are  about  twenty,  including 
the  tale  of  Erik  the  Red  and  the  earliest  discovery  of  America. 
The  greater  sagas  of  the  Icelanders  are  the  ''Egil,"  the  ''Laxdaela," 
the  "Eyrbyggja,"  and  the  ''Njal."  There  are  also  sagas  relating 
to  Norway  and  other  lands,  of  which  the  most  important  is  Snorri 
Sturluson's  "Heimskringla"  ("The  Circuit  of  the  World"),  a  great 
historic  document  telling  of  the  lives  and  exploits  of  King  Olaf 
Trygvesson  and  Saint  Olaf.  To  these  should  be  added  the  mythi- 
cal and  romantic  sagas,  notably  the  "Volsunga  Saga,"  intensely 
interesting  and  seeming  to  give  expression  to  all  the  genius  of  the 
people  of  the  North. 

Let  us  glance  at  some  of  these  famous  tales.  Here  is  an  account 
of  Egil  in  his  prime : 

"And  when  the  king  saw  that  Egil  was  come  in,  he  bade  the  lower 
bench  be  cleared  for  them,  and  that  Egil  should  sit  in  the  high  seat 


SCANDINAVIAN  LITERATURE  329 

facing  the  king.  Egil  sat  down  there,  and  cast  his  shield  before  his  feet. 
He  had  his  helm  on  his  head,  and  laid  his  sword  across  his  knees ;  and 
now  and  again  he  half  drew  it,  and  then  clashed  it  back  into  the  sheath. 


uu  yv&  doliH  *  breipar  tii  Jbuo  ffttft  ^f  |»  J«  "Bi  ^if  B»  tn 
uu  ^tr  l^feifhi  ftf  li W  snilJ^- -ip*  f  b»oir*  B^  «  ^ufltr  bjT 

•*ni1r-1;otr9ul5^<§.nnia  mlr^Jirticir]>t}0Sj>dTiTTf  Ifv 
fua  bB  etct  pfr''-li-^jj  gofptr-* fnmfi- flftolm  c  0T>r  fdrf  bn 

l)'!»trne  |ia  brrflnofdn  tnihu-^wdr  eb-J^WniJrgoWfmJ 
Tfli  fhJ<«c  ^cr  jTdr  fcgid  p^  tfr  )>u  '.w-  g^  iBd  ilF»2(PtIw 
-tminiu  latia -^H  ittntfiviyi^t^  %  inr.tnd  inu  pw  ij&tr 
^niA|iyT>ONl  Qmr  bl(J1T^A0(^T^^OPt^^  i^ii'irfl^*  Tt'}mu  |>t 
patd  iif  floSi  Ttmr-  -J  |u«r  tili()SM  ^i\a  bu  rtdJnJp  ^'m  |MtIr 
uific  bud  "i.  nmi  Inn  lerngir bpd  Jju  rvfrvripd  *  PftA  1>w  6^- 

ilfitu  tdtr-od "MttfeA  timuj  ■»>ptlii'?bilirnrni  dnicn^het 
l^nfgr  p^dpnr-titdi- tun- -6  lit  l?r-tpivirr t  flujrpF b' 
(rpt1^l  OTitit- 9i^(Hlr  Wy  [rdpS- lirttnr- triWJtr  VJ  ficstr^ 
M?n4^:K^c-?'piJ5^^fnve%''»"'«J'h-l&bioft>i|  ^px^ 
Wtil-ipo?fwanr  tnr.p-S  ini  Ii^Titysiitdrl^w  flu^p^c 


ICELANDIC   MANUSCRIPT 
From  the  Flatey  Book 

He  sat  upright,  but  with  head  bent  forward.  Egil  was  large-featured, 
broad  of  forehead,  with  large  eye-brows,  a  nose  not  long  but  very  thick, 
lips  wide  and  long,  chin  exceeding  broad,  as  was  all  about  the  jaws ; 
thick-necked   was   he,   and   big-shouldered  beyond   other   men,   hard- 


330  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

featured,  and  grim  when  angry.  He  would  not  drink  now,  though  the  horn 
was  borne  to  him,  but  alternately  twitched  his  brows  up  and  down."^ 

This  same  Egil  was  a  real  poet,  as  we  can  see  from  his  dirge  on  his 
son's  death,  one  of  the  most  powerful  of  Norse  poems.  There  are 
twenty-four  stanzas,  filled  with  tragic  sadness  and  utter  woe.  The 
following  verses  suggest  the  theme: 

"Dwindling  now  my  kindred 
Draw  near  to  their  end, 
Ev'n  as  forest-saplings 
Felled  or  tempest-strown." 

Note  the  following  picture  of  Olaf  Trygvesson : 

"King  Olaf  could  run  across  the  oars  outside  of  his  vessel  while  his 
men  were  rowing  the  Serpent.  He  could  play  with  three  daggers,  so 
that  one  was  always  in  the  air,  and  he  took  the  one  falling  by  the  han- 
dle. He  could  walk  all  round  upon  the  ship's  rails,  could  strike  and  cut 
equally  well  with  both  hands,  and  could  cast  two  spears  at  once.  King 
Olaf  was  a  very  merry,  frolicsome  man ;  gay  and  social ;  had  great  taste 
in  everything ;  was  very  generous ;  was  very  finical  in  his  dress,  but  in 
battle  he  exceeded  all  in  bravery."  ^ 

Heroic  is  the  last  view  of  him,  when,  beset  by  his  enemies  in  that 
last  and  greatest  sea  fight,  he  springs  overboard,  throws  his  shield 
over  his  head,  and  sinks  beneath  the  waters. 

The  translation  by  Dasent  of  that  great  classic  the  ''Njalssaga" 
("The  Story  of  Burnt  Njal")  is  itself  a  classic.  Here  we  encoun- 
ter Gunnar — handsome,  fair-skinned,  blue-eyed,  ruddy-cheeked,  of 
sturdy  frame  and  strong  will,  a  man  slow  to  wrath,  bountiful  and 
gentle,  a  fast  friend. 

"He  could  cut  or  thrust  or  shoot,  if  he  chose,  as  well  with  his  left  as 
with  his  right  hand,  and  he  smote  so  swiftly  with  his  sword  that  three 
seemed  to  flash  through  the  air  at  once.  He  was  the  best  shot  with  the 
bow  of  all  men.  and  never  missed  the  mark.  He  could  leap  more  than 
his  own  height,  with  all  his  war-gear,  and  as  far  backwards  as  forwards." 

1  Translation  by  W.  C.  Green.  -Translation  by  Samuel  Laing. 


SCANDINAVIAN  LITERATURE  331 

It  was  this  same  Gunnar  who  thus  gave  expression  to  his  love  for 
his  homestead : 

"'Fair  is  the  Lithe;  so  fair  that  it  has  never  seemed  to  me  so  fair; 
the  corn  fields  are  white  to  harvest,  and  the  home  mead  is  mown ;  and 
now  I  will  ride  back  home  and  not  fare  abroad  at  all.'" 

But  what  of  the  chief  woman  character  in  this  "Njalssaga"  ?  Most 
of  the  cruel  fortunes  of  the  heroes  of  the  tale  are  due  to  the  heart- 
less, calculating  woman  Hallgerda.  She  makes  an  indelible  impres- 
sion upon  the  reader.  At  the  very  outset  of  this  strange,  eventful 
history  we  see  her  in  her  early  girlhood  seated  on  the  floor  with 
other  girls,  "fair  of  face  and  tall  of  growth,  and  her  hair  as  soft 
as  silk."    Her  father  says  to  his  brother  Hrut : 

"What  dost  thou  think  of  this  maiden?  Is  she  not  fair?'  Hrut 
held  his  peace.  Hauskuld  said  the  same  thing  to  him  a  second  time, 
and  then  Hrut  answered,  'Fair  enough  is  this  maid,  and  many  will  smart 
for  it ;  but  this  I  know  not,  whence  thief's  eyes  have  come  into 
our  race.'" 

After  a  period  we  see  Hallgerda  grown  up,  "the  fairest  of  women 
to  look  upon ;  she  was  tall  of  stature,  too,  and  therefore  she  was 
called  'Longcoat.'  She  was  fair-haired,  and  had  so  much  hair  that 
she  could  hide  herself  in  it ;  but  she  was  lavish  and  hard-hearted." 
A  significant  speech  defines  her  character :  "To  no  one,"  Hallgerda 
said,  "will  I  give  place,  for  I  will  not  be  driven  into  the  corner  for 
anyone."  See  her  again,  with  one  husband  killed  by  her  connivance, 
and  almost  ready  to  be  married  to  a  second : 

"She  had  on  a  cloak  of  rich  blue  woof,  and  under  it  a  scarlet  kirtle, 
and  a  silver  girdle  round  her  waist;  but  her  hair  came  down  on  both 
sides  of  her  bosom,  and  she  had  turned  the  locks  up  under  her  girdle. 
She  sat  down  between  Hrut  and  her  father,  and  she  greeted  them  all 
with  kind  words,  and  spoke  well  and  boldly,  and  asked  what  was  the 
news." 

It  does  not  surprise  us  that  when  dunnar.  her  husband,  infinitely 
her  superior  in  every  way,  is  hard  beset  and  seeks  her  aid,  she  re- 
fuses to  lift  a  finger,  but  answers  in  a  cold,  contemptuous  way  and 


332  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

calmly  sees  him  die.  Very  different  is  that  loyal  wife  of  Njal  in  the 
same  saga.  She  is  offered  her  freedom,  but  she  elects  to  be  burned 
to  death  with  her  husband.  "I  was  given  away  to  Njal  young," 
said  Bergthora,  "and  I  have  promised  him  this,  that  we  should 
both  share  the  same  fate." 

We  meet  these  ancient  elemental  people  just  as  they  are — wise, 
foolish,  lazy,  industrious,  commonplace,  noble,  generous-hearted, 
cruel.  Their  intrepidity  in  the  face  of  certain  death  is  a  constant 
miracle.  Resistless  fate  grips  them,  and  they  are  gone.  A  few 
words  of  passion  or  of  devotion,  a  few  strokes  of  the  sword,  and 
their  story  is  told.  The  women  are  frequently  as  heroic  as  the  men. 
And  the  men — what  lust  for  life,  what  glorious  energy ! 

"Then  are  they  glad, 
The  skillful  men-at-arms, 
Agile  to  jump 
And  swing  the  oars. 
Till  they  break  the  loops 
And  snap  the  thole-pins ; 
Splash  goes  the  water 
At  the  word  of  the  King." 

One  feels  rewarded  by  an  acquaintance  with  any  of  the  sagas. 
But  the  deepest  impression  is  perhaps  produced  by  reading  the 
"Volsunga  Saga."  IMagnusson  and  IMorris's  translation  seems  to 
have  all  the  force  of  the  original.  William  IMorris  deals  with  the 
same  theme  in  his  heroic  epic  "Sigurd  the  Volsung."  The  tale  be- 
longs to  the  ancient  past  of  the  Teutonic  peoples.  We  have  al- 
ready encountered  the  German  version  in  the  "  Xibelungenlied," 
but  the  Norse  version  transcends  it.  Brynhild  and  Sigurd  are  both 
represented  as  descendants  of  the  gods.  The  story  of  the  hoard  and 
of  the  magic  ring  is  made  more  vivid  and  real.  The  web  of  fate  is 
more  skillfully  woven.  Sigurd  himself  is  a  truly  heroic  figure,  with- 
out a  blemish,  intended  to  embody  all  the  virtues  of  the  Northern 
peoples. 

There  are  forty-three  episodes  in  the  "Volsunga  Saga,"  twelve  of 
which  relate  incidents  previous  to  the  birth  of  Sigurd.  Volsung,  his 
grandfather  and  the  founder  of  the  family,  is  the  grandson  of  the  god 


SCANDINAVIAN  LITERATURE  333 

Odin.  At  several  striking  places  in  the  tale,  Odin  himself  appears.  Our 
first  glimpse  reveals  him  huge,  one-eyed,  old  in  appearance,  barefoot, 
wearing  a  spotted  cloak  and  holding  a  sword  in  his  hand.  Sigmund, 
Sigurd's  father,  after  a  most  adventurous  life,  dies  before  the  birth  of 
his  famous  son.  Sigurd  is  initiated  into  all  the  arts  by  his  foster  father 
Regin,  at  whose  instigation  Sigurd  slays  the  dragon  Fafnir  and  secures 
the  hoard  and  the  magic  ring.  On  his  faithful  horse  Grani,  and  bearing 
his  famous  sword  Gram,  he  passes  the  wall  of  flame  and  enters  the 
castle  beyond,  Vvhere  he  frees  Brynhild  from  enchantment.  Their  mutual 
vows  come  to  naught,  for  through  a  magic  potion  he  forgets  Brynhild 
and  marries  the  Burgundian  Gudrun.  Gunnar,  Gudrun's  brother,  seeks 
Brynhild  in  marriage.  Sigurd  accomplishes  for  Gunnar  what  the  latter 
could  not  do.  In  the  Hkeness  of  Gunnar  he  "mounts  and  rides,  Gram 
in  his  hand,  and  golden  spurs  on  his  heels ;  then  leapt  Grani  into  the 
fire  when  he  felt  the  spurs  ;  and  a  mighty  roar  arose  as  the  fire  burned 
ever  madder,  and  the  earth  trembled,  and  the  flames  went  up  even  unto 
the  heavens."  Brynhild,  as  the  result  of  the  supposed  Gunnar's  exploit, 
marries  the  real  Gunnar  and  in  due  time  claims  precedence  over  her 
rival  Gudrun.  Learning  from  Gudrun  how  she  has  been  tricked,  Bryn- 
hild vows  vengeance  on  Sigurd,  who  is  speedily  done  to  death.  "And 
now  none  might  know  for  what  cause  Brynhild  must  bewail  with  weep- 
ing what  she  had  prayed  for  with  laughter."  Death  comes  as  a  wel- 
come relief  from  the  life  that  now  can  mean  nothing  more  to  her; 
and  Sigurd  and  she  are  burned  on  the  same  funeral  pyre.  The  subse- 
quent fortunes  of  Gudrun  and  the  other  heroic  characters  in  this  tale 
of  great  deeds  cannot  be  described  here. 

All  the  bitterness  and  enmity,  all  the  stirring  passions  of  the  early 
day,  stand  revealed  in  this  old  folk  tale.  Read  it  and  you  will  dis- 
cover the  things  that  moved  most  deeply  the  forefathers  of  our  race 
as  they  faced  the  facts  of  life. 


The  Middle  Period 

There  are  not  many  important  names  in  the  history  of  Scandi- 
navian literature  from  the  close  of  the  saga  period  until  the  begin- 
ning of  the  nineteenth  century.    But  a  brief  review  will  be  useful. 

Denmark  and  Norway,  These  countries  may  be  treated  as  one, 
since  politically  they  were  united  until  the  nineteenth  century  and 


334  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

their  language  was  practically  identical.  Runic  inscriptions,  part 
of  which  are  rhythmic  in  form,  have  been  collected  in  Norway,  dat- 
ing from  very  early  times.  In  the  thirteenth  century  the  "Thidreks 
Saga"  appeared  in  Norway  ;  it  is  worthy  of  a  place  beside  the  con- 
temporary Icelandic  sagas.  It  deals  with  the  fortunes  of  Dietrich  of 
Bern,  who  exercised  a  fascination  over  the  minds  of  the  Teutonic 
tribes,  as  we  have  already  discovered.  Denmark,  however,  was  the 
real  center  of  such  literary  activity  as  existed  in  these  two  coun- 
tries during  the  middle  period.  The  early  writings  were  in  Latin. 
By  far  the  most  conspicuous  of  these  was  "Historia  Danica,"  by 
Saxo  Grammaticus,  a  thirteenth-century  historian.  It  carries  the 
history  of  Denmark  forward  to  the  year  1186.  Note  the  enthu- 
siasm which  Erasmus  felt  for  Saxo's  work:  ''He  has  written  the 
history  of  his  country  in  a  style  both  splendid  and  sublime.  I  praise 
his  vivid,  ardent  spirit,  his  diction,  which  never  betrays  flagging  or 
exhaustion,  no  less  than  the  wondrous  richness  of  his  style,  his 
wealth  of  sound  principles  and  remarkable  variety  of  imagery." 

Of  special  interest  are  the  collections  of  Danish  ballads,  about 
five  hundred  in  all.  Some  come  from  a  period  as  early  as  the 
eleventh  century,  but  they  date  chiefly  from  1300  to  1500.  The 
first  collection  was  Vedel's  ''Kaempeviser"  (1591).  Old  Norse 
mythology  and  traditions  in  these  popular  ballads  suggest  a  connec- 
tion with  the  Eddas,  which  is  borne  out  also  by  their  bold  concep- 
tions, their  short  sentences,  and  their  singular  directness  and  force. 
Christian  times  are  reflected  in  the  themes  of  others  of  these  ballads, 
and  the  characteristic  life  of  the  Middle  Ages  in  ballads  of  chivalry 
and  love.  A  number  of  interesting  examples  are  given  in  Long- 
fellow's "Poets  and  Poetry  of  Europe." 

In  the  Reformation  Period  Christian  Pedersen  (1480-1554) 
did  much  through  his  literary  pursuits  to  influence  the  thought  of 
Denmark  and  to  fix  the  language.  Hans  Tausen  and  Paul  Hel- 
gesen,  his  successors,  wrote  mainly  in  the  field  of  religious  contro- 
versy. The  earliest  Danish  plays  date  from  this  period.  They  were 
mostly  morality  plays  and  emanated  from  school  and  university. 

The  eighteenth  century  marks  the  period  when  Denmark  and  Nor- 
way first  produced  a  writer  who  proved  an  abiding  influence  upon 


SCANDINAVIAN  LITERATURE  335 

the  literature  of  these  countries  and  of  Europe.  Ludvig  Holberg 
(1684-17 54)  was  born  in  Bergen,  Norway,  received  his  education 
in  Copenhagen,  and  spent  most  of  his  time  for  a  number  of  years 
during  his  early  manhood  in  travel  and  study  in  foreign  lands.  The 
European  culture  thus  gained  and  passed  on  to  his  countrymen 
proved  of  great  benefit.  In  1 718  he  received  an  appointment  to  the 
University  of  Copenhagen  and  held  in  turn  positions  as  professor  of 
metaphysics,  of  Latin  and  rhetoric,  and  of  history  and  geography. 
In  his  earliest  writing,  ''Peder  Paars,"  a  comical  heroic  poem  of 
more  than  six  thousand  lines,  Holberg  displayed  his  talent  as  sati- 
rist and  comic  writer.  Holberg  has  told  us  that  his  object  was  to 
ridicule  the  ballads  which  the  common  people  were  reading  with 
such  avidity,  and  also  to  make  fun  of  heroic  verse.  The  poem 
brought  him  immediate  fame.  On  the  formation  of  a  theatrical 
company  in  Copenhagen,  Holberg  was  asked  to  furnish  plays.  Dur- 
ing the  succeeding  five  years  he  produced  twenty-eight  comedies, 
five  of  the  best  of  which  appeared  the  first  year,  1722.  After  a 
period  of  some  years,  during  which  the  theater  had  declined,  he 
wrote  ( 1 747 )  six  additional  plays.  But  his  other  writings  were  also 
very  numerous — history,  philosophy,  criticism,  and  allegory.  In 
his  essays,  over  five  hundred  in  number,  he  has  been  compared  to 
Montaigne.  His  "Niels  Klim's  Underground  Journey,"  a  satirical 
romance,  became  his  most  widely  known  book  and  was  speedily 
translated  ijito  all  European  languages.  He  wrote  a  human,  frank, 
and  witty  autobiography  in  Latin,  later  translated  into  Danish. 

Holberg's  comedies  are  practically  all  in  prose.  They  deal  with 
allegorical  subjects,  with  popular  superstitions,  and  with  follies  and 
weaknesses  in  human  nature.  The  best  of  them  are  domestic  come- 
dies, depicted  with  such  realism  that,  as  the  Danish  poet  Oehlen- 
schliiger  has  remarked,  ''If  Copenhagen  had  been  buried  beneath 
the  ground  and  only  Holberg's  comedies  had  remained,  we  should 
nevertheless  have  known  the  life  that  stirred  within  its  walls,  not 
only  in  its  broadest  outlines,  but  in  many  of  its  minutest  details." 
Holberg  has  been  termed  with  some  justice  the  Danish  Moliere, 
though  the  comparison  may  easily  be  pressed  too  far.  Three  capi- 
tal plays  of  Holberg  are  included  in  the  volume  in  English  pub- 


336  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

lished  by  the  American-Scandinavian  Foundation.  "Jeppe  of  the 
Hill"  describes  to  the  life  a  drunken  peasant  who  takes  for  a  day 
the  role  of  a  nobleman.  "The  Political  Tinker"  satirizes,  as  Hoi- 
berg  himself  says,  "those  boasters  among  common  people  in  free 
cities  who  sit  in  taverns  and  criticize  the  mayor  and  council ;  they 
know  everything  and  yet  nothing."  "Erasmus  Montanus"  pre- 
sents a  picture  of  a  country  youth  who  returns  from  the  univer- 
sity puffed  up  with  pedantry  but  without  any  deep  convictions, 
bringing  about  a  situation  of  pure  comedy. 

In  his  closing  days  Holberg  said,  "I  have  sought  all  my  life  long 
to  be  a  useful  citizen  of  my  country" ;  and  he  was  stating  the  sim- 
ple truth.  His  influence  has  been  a  stimulating  one.  There  is  no 
name  in  Danish  literature  greater  than  his. 

Of  the  writers  of  Denmark  during  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  the  so-called  Age  of  Enlightenment,  Johannes  Evald 
( 1 743-1 781)  stands  preeminent.  He  took  Klopstock  as  his  liter- 
ary master.  In  1770  appeared  his  first  work  of  consequence — a 
prose  tragedy  "Rolf  Krage,"  the  earliest  genuine  literary  pro- 
duction to  utilize  a  theme  from  the  legendary  Scandinavian 
history.  Evald  is,  however,  remembered  chiefly  for  two  three-act 
poetic  dramas,  "Balder's  Death"  (1744)  and  "The  Fishermen" 
(1778).  The  latter  contains  the  Danish  national  song,  "King 
Christian  Stood  by  the  Lofty  Mast,"  which  is  well  known  to 
readers  of  English  in  Longfellow's  spirited  translation. 

Sweden.  The  earliest  writings  in  Swedish  that  have  come  down 
to  us  are  legal  documents,  or  collections  of  laws,  dating  from  the 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  possibly  earher.  Ballads  and 
folk  songs,  similar  to  those  of  the  Danes,  belong  to  the  same  cen- 
turies and  later,  though  they  were  not  collected  until  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries.  Good  examples  appear  in  Longfellow's 
"Poets  and  Poetry  of  Europe."  Romances  of  chivalry  and  rimed 
chronicles  were  produced  in  Sweden  during  the  INIiddle  Ages,  as  in 
other  countries  of  Europe.  INIost  of  the  national  literature  for  five 
hundred  years  after  the  introduction  of  Christianity  was  of  a  re- 
ligious character.  Neither  the  Renaissance  nor  the  Reformation 
exercised  any  marked  influence  over  the  literature  of  the  country. 


SCANDINAVIAN  LITERATURE  337 

The  earliest  prose  history  was  written  by  Gustavus  Vasa  (1530). 
Drama  had  scarcely  made  a  beginning  by  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century. 

In  the  reign  of  Gustavus  Adolphus  appeared  Georg  Stjernhjelm 
(1598-1672),  the  first  Swedish  poet  of  distinction.  His  epic  "Her- 
cules" was  celebrated  in  his  day.  He  produced  also  comic  operas 
and  sonnets  and  was  accomplished  in  other  fields.  For  over  a  cen- 
tury, until  the  time  of  Olof  von  Dalin  (i  708-1 763),  there  was  no 
name  equally  famous,  although  the  intervening  years  had  witnessed 
great  intellectual  activity,  and  a  number  of  writers  had  appeared 
who  exhibited  the  influence  of  French  and  English  literary  models. 
Dalin  was  a  journalist,  critic,  and  poet.  His  heroic  poem  "Free- 
dom of  Sweden,"  his  tragedy  ''Br>'nhilda,"  and  his  four-volume 
"History  of  the  Swedish  Kingdom"  are  his  chief  writings.  The 
name  of  Dalin  dominated  this  entire  period. 

It  is  interesting  to  recall  that  in  this  same  century  Sweden  pro- 
duced two  men  of  genius  in  the  fields  of  science  and  philosophy — 
Linnaeus  (i 707-1 778),  the  celebrated  botanist,  and  Emanuel  Swe- 
denborg  (1688-1772),  philosopher,  theological  writer,  and  mystic, 
founder  of  the  so-called  New  Church. 

At  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  Sweden  began  to  develop 
rapidly.  Gustavus  III  proved  to  be  a  genuine  patron  of  letters ;  he 
founded  the  Swedish  Academy  and  the  Swedish  theater,  and  he 
w'as  no  mean  playwright  himself.  Of  the  many  writers  of  the  time 
three  won  a  prominent  place:  Johan  Henrik  Kellgren,  critic,  poet, 
and  writer  of  lyric  dramas ;  Karl  Gustaf  af  Leopold,  satirist  and 
Classical  writer ;  and  Karl  M.  Bellman,  a  national  poet  and  a  hymn- 
writer  of  distinction,  deeply  loved,  it  is  said,  by  the  common  people 
of  Sweden. 

Modern  Danish  Literature 

The  leading  writer  of  Denmark  of  the  early  nineteenth  century 
was  Adam  Gottlob  Oehlenschlager  (1779-1850).  Holberg  had 
written  under  Classical  influences;  Oehlenschlager  represented  the 
Romantic  movement  in  its  finest  expression  in  Denmark.  Intellec- 
tual pursuits  engaged  his  attention  early,  and  in  journalism  and 


338  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

other  fields  he  gave  considerable  promise.  In  1802,  impressed 
deeply  by  the  Norwegian  critic  Steffens,  and  fired  by  the  patriotic 
ideals  of  his  day,  Oehlenschlager  burst  into  song.  His  first  volume 
of  poems,  published  the  next  year,  showed  astonishing  power  and 
in  itself  entitled  him  to  his  place  as  the  chief  poet  of  his  country. 
The  lyrics  and  ballads  which  it  contained  constituted  a  challenge 
to  his  generation,  the  manifesto  of  a  new  literary  movement.  Two 
more  volumes  of  poems  appeared  in  1805,  the  themes  being  taken 
in  part  from  the  ancient  Norse  tales.  In  this  collection  the  chief 
place  must  be  given  to  "Aladdin,"  a  lyric  dramatization  of  the 
Arabian  Nights  tale.  The  dedication  of  this  poem  was  addressed 
to  Goethe.  Six  more  poetical  works  were  the  fruit  of  the  five  years 
which  Oehlenschlager  now  spent  in  foreign  travel.  The  best  of  his 
plays,  a  five-act  tragedy  "Hakon  Jarl,"  based  upon  saga  material, 
and  the  beautiful  love  play  "Axel  og  Valborg,"  which  utilizes  a 
story  of  the  Middle  Ages,  belong  to  this  period.  Of  the  great  num- 
ber of  other  poetical  works  produced  by  Oehlenschlager  during  the 
latter  part  of  his  life — tragedies,  comedies,  epic  poems,  etc. — it 
is  not  possible  to  speak  here.  His  was  an  active  life,  somewhat 
disturbed  by  a  bitter  critical  controversy  with  Baggesen  and  other 
literary  men  of  his  day.  English  translations  of  a  number  of 
his  melodious  and  sentimental  poems  have  been  made,  including 
Sir  Theodore  IMartin's  translation  of  "Aladdin,"  unquestionably 
one  of  the  finest  of  the  poet's  writings. 

Among  Oehlenschlager 's  contemporaries  the  following  were  con- 
spicuous :  Baggesen,  poet  of  the  transition  period ;  Grundtvig.  poet, 
religious  writer  and  leader,  historian,  and  interpreter  of  Northern 
mythology ;  Ingemann,  poet  and  novelist,  thoroughly  Romantic  in 
his  impulse ;  Heiberg,  writer  of  over  twenty  volumes  of  prose  and 
poetry,  including  dramas  and  musical  plays ;  Hertz,  lyric  poet  and 
author  of  important  comedies  in  verse;  and  Paludan-Miiller,  a 
rarely  gifted  poet  who  drew  upon  ancient  and  modern  literature, 
sacred  history,  and  fairy  tales  for  his  themes.  It  will  be  noted  that 
the  age  was  exceedingly  rich  on  the  side  of  poetry.  By  the  mid- 
dle of  the  century  the  amount  of  poetical  composition  had  noticea- 
blv  decreased. 


*  SCANDINAVIAN  LITERATURE  339 

Two  Danish  writers  very  widely  known  in  Europe  and  America 
call  for  more  extended  notice.  Hans  Christian  Andersen  (1805- 
1875),  though  a  prolific  writer  of  poems,  romances,  and  dramas,  is 
remembered  almost  exclusively  in  our  day  for  his  fairy  tales. 
These,  unlike  the  Grimm  tales,  which  were  mere  collections  of  folk 
stories,  were  poetical  compositions  written  by  Andersen  himself 
and  illuminated  by  the  light  of  genius.  The  Andersen  stories  are 
known  throughout  the  world.  They  give  delight  to  all ;  upon  the 
thoughtful,  mature  reader  the  artistic  skill  and  rare  understanding 
of  children  displayed  in  the  tales  of  this  sensitive  Dane  make  a 
deep  impression.  Boyesen's  essay  on  Andersen  gives  many  inter- 
esting personal  facts. ^ 

Georg  Brandes  (1842-  )  belongs  in  the  main  stream  of  Eu- 
ropean literature  because  of  his  powers  as  a  critic.  He  is  of  Jewish 
race,  a  thoroughgoing  linguist  and  cosmopolitan.  His  first  essay 
appeared  in  1862  ;  hence  his  work  covers  a  long  and  interesting 
period.  Dr.  Brandes's  most  famous  criticism  is  to  be  found  in 
his  "Main  Literary  Currents  of  the  Nineteenth  Century"  (six 
volumes),  but  many  other  works  are  the  product  of  his  pen.  He 
finds  himself  in  sympathy  with  the  more  radical  thought  of  our 
era.  A  good  impression  of  his  fine,  penetrative  criticism  may  be 
gained  from  his  volume  of  critical  studies  on  Ibsen  and  Bjornson. 

Another  radical  Danish  thinker  of  the  late  period  is  Holger  H.  H. 
Drachmann  (1846-1908),  artist  and  writer  of  realistic  prose  and 
verse,  noted  particularly  for  his  lyric  sea  poems.  A  contemporary 
writer  of  Denmark  has  had  considerable  vogue  in  European  and 
American  circles — Martin  Andersen  Nexo,  whose  labor  novel "  Pelle 
the  Conqueror,"  human,  imaginative,  realistic,  and  unreticent,  be- 
longs to  the  same  school  of  international  fiction  as  Romain  Rolland's 
"Jean-Christophe." 

Modern  Norwegian  Literature 

An  interesting  literary  movement  resulted  from  the  separation 
of  Norway  from  Denmark  in  18 14.    At  first  no  very  conspicuous 
writers  appeared.    Henrik  Wergeland  (1808-1845)  and  Sebastian 
^Essays  on  Scandinavian  Literature. 


340  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

C.  Welhaven  (1807-187.O  were,  however,  important  factors  in  the 
development  of  a  distinctively  Norwegian  national  literature. 
Wergcland  had  a  strong  and  erratic  personality,  a  touch  of  idealism, 
,  intense  patriotic  ardor.  His  writings  include  plays  and  farces  and 
epic  and  lyric  poems  of  beauty  and  imagination.  His  controversy 
with  Welhaven  occupied  the  attention  of  all  Norway.  ^Wergeland 
took  a  strictly  national  position,  while  Welhaven  held  that  the  in- 
tellectual development  of  Norway  must  relate  itself  to  that  of  Den- 
mark and  the  rest  of  Europe.  Welhaven's  critical  ideas  were  more 
sound,  and  they  prevailed.  His  writings  include  literary  studies, 
romances,  and  highly  poetic  and  finished  lyrics. 

Two  other  Norwegians  of  the  same  period,  Asbjornsen  and  Moe, 
are  of  interest  for  the  collections  which  they  made  of  poetry  of  the 
people  and  folk  stories.  Both  were  men  of  discernment  and  dis- 
played not  only  industry  but  good  taste  in  the  assembling  of  the 
popular  and  peasant  literature  of  Norway. 

Bjornson  and  Ibsen,  the  outstanding  Norwegian  authors  of  our 
times,  have  taken  a  sure  place  in  European  letters.  The  contrast 
between  the  two  is  very  great.  Courage,  hope,  humanity,  charac- 
terize Bjornson ;  while  Ibsen  is  solitary,  holds  himself  aloof,  dis- 
plays an  intensely  critical  and  pessimistic  spirit  verging  on  despair, 
and  never  tempers  judgment  with  mercy.  Bjornson  faces  toward 
the  light,  Ibsen  dwells  in  the  gloom.  Bjornson  is  an  intense  na- 
tionalist, while  Ibsen  inhabits  the  world.  Bjornson  has  love  that  is 
kind;  Ibsen,  genius  that  is  cold. 

Bjornstjerne  Bjornson  (1832-1910)  was  born  in  the  bleak 
north  of  Norway,  but  when  he  was  six  the  family  moved  to  the 
Romsdal,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  portions  of  the  country,  the 
scenery  of  which  touched  his  impressionable  nature.  Before  his 
university  course  in  Christiania  was  concluded,  he  had  already 
written  much.  Tireless  energy  and  exhaustless  \dtality  were  his 
lifelong  characteristics.  Journalist,  theater  director  in  both  Bergen 
and  Christiania,  lecturer  and  public  speaker  in  the  fields  of  politics, 
social  reform,  religion,  and  literature,  a  writer  of  poems,  plays,  and 
novels,  he  proved  a  great  dynamic  force  and  a  leading  national 
figure  always  to  be  reckoned  with.    His  travels  took  him  ^0  various 


SCANDINAVIAN  LITERATURE 


341 


parts  of  Europe,  and  during  the  winter  of  1 880-1 881  he  lectured  in 
the  United  States. 

The  novels  of  Bjornson  have  a  surprising  range.  There  are  thir- 
teen volumes  in  the  standard  English  edition.  When  Bjornson  was 
only  twenty-four  years  of  age  appeared  "Synnove  Solbakken,"  the 
first  of  his  peasant  stories.    In  the  common  opinion  it  is  still  his 


=e?^ 


.^? 


NATIONAL    THEATER    AND    UNIVERSITY,    CHRISTIANIA 


masterpiece.  Like  "Arne,"  "A  Happy  Boy,"  and  ''The  Fisher 
Maiden,"  which  belong  to  that  early  period,  it  carries  with  it  all  the 
freshness  and  beauty  of  the  atmosphere  of  Norway.  The  directness, 
simplicity,  and  romantic  quality  of  these  tales  are  captivating  in  the 
extreme.  Bjornson's  love  for  the  Norse  sagas  is  reflected  through- 
out: the  short,  abrupt  sentences,  the  intensity,  and  the  pithy 
dialogue  of  the  sagas  are  reproduced  with  wonderful  skill.  Indeed, 
Bjornson  developed  early  a  finished  prose  style  which  he  never 
lost.  The  novels  of  his  later  period,  subsequent  to  1874,  reveal  a 
great  change  in  their  author's  point  of  view.  Bjornson  had  passed 
through  a  powerful  inner  struggle.  While  his  essential  nature  was 
absolutely  unchanged,  the  orthodoxy  of  his  youth  was  gone,  and  a 
sort  of  agnostic  theism  had  taken  its  place.    Darwin,  Mill,  and 


342 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


Spencer  influenced  him  deeply.  Following  the  literary  evolution 
of  his  day,  his  Romanticism  gave  way  to  a  searching  Realism.  His 
later  novels,  therefore,  are  of  the  problem  variety:  they  set  forth 
his  social  ideas,  his  views  on  education,  his  later  attitude  toward 

religion  and  faith.  "In  God's 


/^■n 


**■'?■? 


T 


Way,"  the  best  of  these 
rather  disappointing  novels, 
stands  for  liberal  thought 
and  for  right  conduct  in  life. 
Bjornson's  plays  show  the 
same  changes  'in  their  au- 
thor's intellectual  thought 
and  interests  as  dohis novels. 
Heroic  tales  from  the  sagas, 
particularly  the  ''Heims- 
kringla,"  furnish  themes  for 
the  finest  of  the  earlier 
plays.  Bjornson's  historical 
drama,  "Mary  Stuart  in 
Scotland,"  was  less  success- 
ful. ''The  Newly  Married 
Couple"  (1866),  a  quaint, 
optimistic  comedy,  can 
hardly  be  classified  %vith  the 
plays  that  preceded  or  fol- 
lowed it.  "The  Editor"  and  "A  Bankruptcy,"  written  mostly  in 
Italy  in  1874  and  1875,  ushered  in  the  series  of  social  plays,  be- 
longing to  Bjornson's  second  period.  It  is  true  that  the  great 
problem  plays  of  Ibsen  produced  in  the  same  years  have  more 
breadth  and  weight  and  brilliancy,  and  that  by  comparison  the 
plays  of  Bjornson  are  inferior.  Yet  it  is  well  worth  while  to  quote 
Brandes's  words  on  the  Bjornson  of  the  second  period.  "A  burning 
love  of  truth  has  set  its  mark  on  him.  What  individuality  there  is 
in  these  books;  what  powerful  appeal  for  truthfulness  towards 
ourselves  and  towards  others ;  what  a  wealth  of  new  ideas  on  all 
subjects — state  and  society,  marriage  and  home  life!" 


BJORNSTJERNE   BJORNSON 


SCANDINAVIAN  LITERATURE  343 

The  poems  of  Bjornson  are  not  numerous,  though  they  are  highly 
significant.  In  1870  he  pubHshed  "Poems  and  Songs."  Additions 
were  made  later,  but  very  few  poems  appeared  after  1874.  One  of 
Bjomson's  plays,  "Halte-Hulda,"  is  written  in  verse  throughout. 
In  other  dramas  and  in  his  stories  he  has  included  lyric  poems  of 
great  beauty.  In  some  of  his  most  striking  verses  Bjornson,  like 
a  true  scald,  sings  of  the  heroes  of  his  race — notably  in  the  ode 
"Bergliot"  and  in  the  epic  romance  in  fifteen  cantos,  "Ami jot 
Gelline."  In  general  his  poems  are  objective,  concise,  perfectly 
natural.  Few  of  them  are  personal  poems  or  love  poems,  and  com- 
paratively few  are  religious  poems.  An  intense  love  of  nature  and 
a  pride  in  his  own  land  are  shown  in  Bjornson's  historical  ballads 
and  in  the  poems  on  patriotic  subjects,  which  seem  to  be  the  most 
characteristic  of  the  entire  collection.  One  of  his  lyrics,  ''Ja,  vi 
elsker  dette  landet"  ("Yes!  we  love  this  our  country!  "),  in  Nor- 
draak's  musical  version  is  the  national  hymn  of  Norway.  "  Poems 
and  Songs"  and  "Arnljot  Gelline"  in  English  translation  form  at- 
tractive volumes  in  the  Scandinavian  Classics  series  issued  by  the 
American-Scandinavian  Foundation. 

Henrik  Ibsen  (1828-1906),  the  greatest  of  Scandinavian 
writers,  was  born  in  Skien,  a  town  of  about  three  thousand  inhabi- 
tants in  the  south  of  Norway.  The  family  was  Norwegian,  with  a 
mixture  of  Danish  and  Scotch  and  more  of  German  blood.  Henrik 
proved  a  rather  unpromising  boy,  unsociable,  oppressed  by  the  pov- 
erty of  his  family  and  by  the  lack  of  advantages  in  the  remote  and 
uncultivated  part  of  Norway  where  his  lot  was  cast.  At  Grimstad, 
a  town  of  perhaps  five  hundred  persons,  where  he  made  his  home 
from  his  sixteenth  to  his  twenty-first  year,  employed  in  an  apothe- 
cary's shop,  he  was  desperately  poor  and  unhappy  and  was  looked 
upon  as  rude  and  queer.  At  the  close  of  this  period,  fired  by  the 
Revolution  of  1848  and  interested  in  Cicero  and  Sallust  in  connec- 
tion with  his  reading  for  the  university,  he  produced  a  three-act 
youthful  tragedy,  "Catiline,"  written  in  blank  verse  and  in  rime. 
He  now  went  to  Christiania  to  pursue  his  studies  and  to  try  his  for- 
tune, and  there  led  a  precarious  existence,  supported  partly  by  his 
pen  and  partly  through  outside  assistance.  A  few  friends  recognized 


344  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

his  budding  genius.  In  1851  Ibsen,  then  a  youth  of  twenty-three, 
accepted  Ole  Bull's  offer  to  assist  the  newly  organized  National 
Theater  in  Bergen  as  "dramatic  author."  This  connection  brought 
him  experience  and  some  foreign  travel,  but  little  in  the  way  of 
funds.  He  worked  on  a  historical  drama  in  prose  and  verse — ''The 
Feast  at  Solhaug" — and  on  the  saga  plays  "Lady  Inger"  and  "The 
Vikings  at  Helgeland."  In  1857,  shortly  after  his  marriage,  he 
returned  to  Christiania  to  take  the  post  of  director  of  the  Norwe- 
gian Theater.  There  he  lived  until  1864,  with  the  exception  of 
the  short  period  when  he  went  to  Hardanger  and  elsewhere,  under 
a  traveling-grant,  to  collect  folk  songs  and  legends.  The  first  fruit 
of  those  wretched  years  of  struggle  and  slight  recognition  was  a 
satirical  verse  play,  "Love's  Comedy."  It  provoked  a  storm  of 
abuse.  He  said  later:  "The  only  person  who  at  that  time  ap- 
proved of  the  book  was  my  wife.  .  .  .  My  countrymen  excom- 
municated me.  All  were  against  me."  The  historical  drama  which 
followed,  "The  Pretenders,"  showed  an  enormous  advance  over 
his  earlier  work,  yet  at  the  time  few  recognized  its  power.  As  to 
Ibsen  himself,  at  the  close  of  this  early  period  of  his  career  we 
find  him  already  the  castigator,  the  cynic,  the  revolutionist.  He 
looked  upon  Norway  as  "a  barbarous  country,  inhabited  by  millions 
of  cats  and  dogs."  When  Brandes  said  to  him,  "You  know,  there 
are  sound  potatoes  and  rotten  potatoes  in  the  world,"  Ibsen  re- 
sponded, "I  am  afraid  none  of  the  sound  ones  have  come  under 
my  notice." 

It  is  not  surprising  that  Ibsen,  smarting  under  the  disapproval 
of  his  countrymen  and  seeking  a  freer  atmosphere,  voluntarily  ex- 
patriated himself  and  made  his  way  to  Italy.  This  was  in  1864, 
when  he  was  thirty-seven.  He  was  destined  to  remain  abroad,  ex- 
cept for  two  brief  visits  to  Norway,  until  1891.  During  this  long 
period  he  lived  in  various  parts  of  Italy,  in  Dresden,  in  Munich, 
and  elsewhere.  His  circumstances  were  much  straitened  at  first, 
but  they  bettered  by  slow  degrees.  He  gradually  drew  within  him- 
self, lived  a  solitary  and  self-centered  life,  and  became  a  close  ob- 
server of  men,  but  not  one  who  willingly  shared  in  the  perplexities 
and  turmoils  of  his  kind. 


SCANDINAVIAN  LITERATURE 


345 


The  product  of  the  first  year  of  his  exile  was  the  poetic  drama 
"Brand,"  which  gave  him  at  once  a  position  among  the  leading 
writers  of  Europe.  Brand  is  an  idealist,  a  man  of  terrific  energy 
and  depth  of  conviction,  whose  motto  is  "all  or  nothing."  As 
it  happens,  he  is  a  priest,  but,  as  Ibsen  assures  us,  he  might  have 
had  any  other  calling. 


At  every  step  in  his  career 
Brand  displays  an.  exaggerated 
sense  of  duty.  It  is  nothing 
for  him  to  battle  with  snow 
and  cold.  He  risks  his  life 
with  no  hesitation  on  the 
waters  of  the  fjord  in  a  fierce 
storm  in  order  that  he  may 
save  a  man's  soul.  The  wom- 
anly, gentle  Agnes,  who  is  im- 
pressed with  Brand's  idealism 
and  has  become  his  wife,  sub- 
mits to  his  unswerving  man- 
dates. Their  frail  child,  who 
cannot  exist  in  the  bleak  spot 
where  duty  has  called  them, 
perishes.  Brand  compels  Agnes 
as  an  act  of  charity  to  part 
with  the  last  remnant  of  the 
child's  clothing.  She  herself 
is  crushed  in  spirit  and  dies; 
but  Brand's  life  pursuit  con- 
tinues. He  has  become  a  prodigy,  even  a  saint,  and  people  throng  to  the 
new  church  which  he  has  dedicated.  Not  content,  he  seeks  the  heights 
with  a  few  of  his  congregation.  They  desert  him,  and  the  stern,  impla- 
cable idealist  loses  his  life  in  an  avalanche. 

The  strength  of  the  play,  in  its  poetry,  in  its  symbolical  pictures 
of  nature,  in  its  stern  religious  fervor,  must  be  apparent  to  every- 
one; to  the  Norwegian  it  has  from  the  first  been  the  most  popular 
and  impressive  of  Ibsen's  works. 

"Peer  Gynt,"  which  followed  in  1867,  is,  to  quote  Ibsen's  own 
words,  "a  long  dramatic  poem,  having  as  its  chief  figure  one  of  the 


_J 


HENRIK   IBSEN 


346  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

half -mythical  and  fantastic  personages  from  the  peasant  life  of 
modern  Norway."  He  insisted  that  it  presented  no  problem  and 
was  to  be  read  simply  as  a  poem. 

Peer  presents  a  most  curious  contrast  to  Brand.  He  is  an  easy-going, 
pleasure-seeking  youth,  imaginative,  nursing  his  selfish  illusions,  Em- 
peror of  Himself.  We  follow  him  through  his  rollicking  experience  of 
running  away  with  the  bride  of  another  youth ;  and  through  his  unsavory 
Hfe  in  the  mountains,  where  he  chooses  the  "roundabout"  way,  wrestles 
with  the  spirit  of  compromise,  and  solves  in  a  very  cheap  and  sorry 
manner  the  riddle  of  his  existence.  We  see  him  again  at  his  home, 
where,  in  an  inimitable  scene,  he  comforts  his  mother's  soul  as  it  faces 
the  Great  Beyond.  Then  we  find  him,  a  middle-aged  man,  in  the  midst 
of  his  checkered  foreign  adventures,  in  which  he  sometimes  dupes  others 
and  sometimes  is  himself  the  dupe.  Finally,  as  an  old  man,  after  escap- 
ing from  shipwreck  at  the  expense  of  another  man's  life.  Peer  is  in  his 
old-time  surroundings,  brooding  over  his  own  past,  and  abjectly  fearing 
Death,  who  appears  in  the  guise  of  a  button-molder.  Our  last  view  of 
him  is  at  the  mountain  hut  of  his  old  sweetheart  Solveig,  who  has  waited 
for  him  these  many  years. 

We  feel  under  so  great  a  debt  when  we  read  and  reread  this 
poetic  masterpiece,  or  listen  to  the  Grieg  music  which  it  has  in- 
spired, that  we  are  ready  to  forgive  Ibsen  for  all  his  personal  crank- 
iness and  spleen. 

After  "Peer  Gynt"  no  work  of  Ibsen's  was  written  in  verse.  The 
somewhat  provincial  "League  of  Youth"  appeared  in  1867,  and 
four  years  later  the  long  historical  play,  in  two  parts,  "Emperor  and 
Galilean,"  to  which  Ibsen  devoted  incredible  pains  for  a  number 
of  years.  A  series  of  social  dramas,  or  problem  plays,  was  ushered 
in  by  "Pillars  of  Society"  (1877)  and  by  the  more  finished  and 
intense  play  "A  Doll's  House."  This  type  of  drama,  now  so  fa- 
miliar to  us,  was — it  must  not  be  forgotten — brought  to  artistic 
perfection  by  Ibsen.  The  entrances  and  exits  are  handled  with  ex- 
traordinary care  and  nicety ;  the  reality  of  the  dialogue  is  all  but 
miraculous ;  the  plot  is  developed  pitilessly  to  a  logical  conclusion ; 
the  problem,  whether  it  has  to  do  with  questions  of  heredity,  or 
family  life,  or  public  duty,  or  moral  weakness,  commonly  strikes 


SCANDINAVIAN  LITERATURE  347 

the  reader  with  overwhelming  force.  These  plays  are  perennially 
provocative  of  discussion ;  their  vividness  is  such  that  one  almost 
inevitably  takes  sides,  now  with  the  author,  now  against  him.  To 
read  Ibsen,  therefore,  is  a  stimulating  experience.  It  means  the 
reconstruction  of  some  of  our  ideas.  It  enables  us  to  analyze  mo- 
tives more  clearly  and  to  search  the  conscience  and  the  understand- 
ing. Not  only  the  plays  themselves,  but  their  inner  history,  the 
circumstances  that  led  to  their  evolution,  the  reception  accorded 
them  in  Norway  and  elsewhere,  Ibsen's  correspondence  with  Bjorn- 
son,  Brandes,  and  others, — all  these  matters  are  of  great  interest 
and  are  necessarily  a  part  of  the  story.  The  introductions  to  the 
volumes  of  the  standard  English  edition,  and  the  extensive  Ibsen 
critical  literature,  are  always  informing. 

The  international  fame  of  Ibsen  dates  from  the  publication  of 
"A  Doll's  House,"  in  1879.  Then  followed  "Ghosts,"  a  brutally 
frank  study  in  heredity;  "The  Enemy  of  the  People,"  based  on 
Ibsen's  conviction  that  "the  minority  is  always  right";  and  the 
enigmatic  play  "The  Wild  Duck,"  in  which  Ibsen  seems  to  be 
laughing  at  himself.  " Rosmersholm "  (1886),  while  a  realistic  play, 
has  a  considerable  imaginative  element.  Ibsen  explains,  "This 
play  deals  with  the  struggle  which  all  serious-minded  human  beings 
have  to  wage  with  themselves  in  order  to  bring  their  lives  into  har- 
mony with  their  convictions."  Impelling  as  this  strong,  tragic  play 
is,  the  comedy  which  followed  in  1888,  "The  Lady  from  the  Sea," 
is  even  finer  in  its  construction  and  insight.  The  impression  of  the 
sea  is  profound,  and  the  mysterious  element  at  the  basis  of  the  story 
is  exceedingly  attractive.  Ibsen  created  a  strong  individual  type  in 
his  next  play,  "Hedda  Gabler"  (1890),  "It  has  not  been  my  de- 
sire," he  said,  "to  deal  in  this  play  with  so-called  problems.  What 
I  principally  wanted  to  do  was  to  depict  human  beings,  human 
emotions,  and  human  destinies  upon  a  groundwork  of  certain  of 
the  social  conditions  and  principles  of  the  present  day."  "The 
Master  Builder"  (1892),  produced  after  his  return  to  Norway,  has 
a  strain  of  autobiography  and  a  beautiful,  poetic  quality.  It  is 
less  realistic  than  symbolic ;  few  of  Ibsen's  plays  are  superior  to  it. 
His  latest  productions,  "Little  Eyolf"    (1894),  "John  Gabriel 


348  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Borkman"  (1896),  and  "When  We  Dead  Awaken"  (which  ap- 
peared in  1899,  when  Ibsen  was  nearly  seventy-two  years  old), 
have  their  admirers.  Though  these  plays  show  no  loss  of  skill, 
they  seem  on  the  whole  decidedly  below  his  best.  Ibsen's  work 
was  done.  After  a  long  illness  he  died  in  his  seventy-ninth  year 
(1906)  at  his  home  in  Christiania, 

During  the  recent  period  the  writers  of  Norway  have  been  very 
numerous,  as  in  the  case  of  other  European  countries.  Jonas  Lie^ 
(1833- 1 908),  one  of  the  most  popular  of  Norwegian  novelists^  de- 
voted most  of  his  life  to  journalism  and  literature.  In  his  Christiania 
days  he  was  the  intimate  of  Bjornson  and  Ibsen.  His  best-known 
novel,  "The  Pilot  and  his  Wife,"  is  a  good  example  of  his  tales  of 
the  sea ;  in  this  field  he  excelled.  The  novels  written  by  Lie  after 
1883  were  naturalistic  and  somewhat  less  pleasing.  Lie's  writings 
fill,  in  all,  fifteen  volumes.  His  best  stories  have  been  translated 
into  English  and  other  languages.  Alexander  Kielland,  Camilla 
Collett  (the  sister  of  Wergeland),  Arne  Garborg,  Hans  Aanrud,  and 
others  have  earned  some  distinction  as  novelists.  Johan  Bojer's 
"Face  of  the  World"  and  "The  Great  Hunger,"  two  strong  and 
somber  stories,  have  been  read  widely  in  English.  The  same  is 
true  of  Knut  Hamsun's  "Hunger"  and  "Growth  of  the  Soil."  The 
former  is  a  story,  told  in  the  first  person,  of  privation  and  struggle 
in  Christiania.  " Growth  of  the  Soil"  is  a  greater  book.  It  gives  a 
powerful  impression  of  life  in  the  wilds  close  to  nature.  Hamsun 
was  born  in  i860  and  has  had  an  interesting  career.  He  won  in 
1920  the  Nobel  prize  for  literature. 

Modern  Swedish  Literature 

Sweden,  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  was  deeply 
influenced  by  the  Romantic  movement,  which  first  found  expression 
in  the  poetry  of  the  so-called  "Phosphorists,"  who  followed  German 
models,  and  in  that  of  the  Gothic  school  of  poets,  enthusiasts 
for  the  mythology  and  antiquity  of  the  North.  Atterbom,  the 
chief  poet  of  the  Phosphorists,  produced  many  lyric  poems,  wrote 

1  Pronounced  Lee. 


SCANDINAVIAN  LITERATURE  349 

criticisms  and  works  on  aesthetics,  and  dramatized  fairy  tales. 
Geijer,  the  founder  of  the  Gothic  school,  wrote  stirring  poems  on 
old  Norse  themes  and  was  also  a  prominent  essayist  and  historian. 

Among  the  many  talented  poets  of  this  period  Esaias  Tegner 
( 1 782-1846)  is  the  great  outstanding  figure.  He  possessed  per- 
haps the  most  interesting  personality  of  all  the  men  of  letters  of 
his  country.  He  came  of  peasant  stock,  his  home  being  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Wermland.  The  death  of  his  father  when  the  boy  was 
only  nine  years  old  left  the  family  in  straitened  circumstances,  but 
Esaias  fortunately  found  a  friend  in  the  assessor  of  the  district  and 
was  assisted  by  him  in  his  schooling  and  in  his  course  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Lund.  High  honors  came  to  him  early.  Before  long  he 
was  established  in  university  work  and  in  181 1  became  professor 
of  Greek.  He  also  held  ecclesiastical  positions,  first  as  pastor  and 
in  1824  as  bishop.  From  Boyesen's  brilliant  essay  on  Tegner^  we 
get  a  powerful  impression  of  the  poet's  abounding  optimism,  vital- 
ity, and  magnetism,  his  intellectual  strength,  his  broad  and  uncon- 
ventional religious  views,  and  particularly  his  courage  in  fighting 
the  melancholy  and  madness  that  clouded  his  later  years. 

Tegner's  first  distinctive  poem  was  a  war  song  written  in  1808, 
followed  three  years  later  by  ''Svea,"  a  splendid  but  somewhat 
rhetorical  patriotic  poem  which  earned  him  the  prize  of  the  Swedish 
Academy.  The  lyrics  and  longer  poems  of  the  succeeding  years 
are  strongly  emotional  and  romantic.  He  is  the  poet  of  youth  and 
imagination,  and  he  thus  reminds  us  of  Schiller,  whom  he  honored 
and  whose  enthusiasm  for  the  classics  he  shared. 

Longfellow,  as  one  result  of  his  trip  to  Sweden  in  1835,  became 
greatly  interested  in  Tegner.  He  translated  in  the  hexameters  of 
the  original  the  idyllic  "Children  of  the  Lord's  Supper,"  which 
Tegner  had  written  in  1820.  It  is  the  finest  of  Tegner's  poems. 
Note  the  opening  stanza : 

"Pentecost,  day  of  rejoicinp,  had  come.  The  church  of  the  village 
Gleaming  stood,  in  the  morning's  sheen.    On  the  spire  of  the  belfry, 
Decked  with  a  brazen  cock,  the  friendly  flames  of  the  spring  sun 
Glanced  like  the  tongues  of  fire  beheld  by  Apostles  aforetime." 

^See  "Essays  on  Scandinavian  Literature." 


350  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Longfellow,  in  connection  with  his  essay  on  Tegner's  "Frithiof's 
Saga,"  gave  a  brilliant  picture  of  Swedish  life.^  He  translated  also 
a  part  of  "  Frithiof 's  Saga."  It  was  the  only  one  of  the  many  trans- 
lations of  this  remarkable  heroic  poem  that  fully  satisfied  Tegner 
himself.  The  poem  was  the  fruit  of  the  poet's  deep  interest  in  the 
ancient  tales  of  his  race.  There  are  twenty-four  divisions,  or  epi- 
sodes, each  written  in  a  different  meter.  A  careful  analysis  of  the 
poem  is  given  by  Boyesen.  It  is  the  tale  of  the  adventures  of  the 
mighty  hero  Frithiof  and  of  his  wooing  of  Ingeborg.  The  interest 
of  the  story  is  heightened  by  the  strongly  marked  autobiographical 
element — the  emotional  experiences  of  the  poet  himself. 

Johan  Ludvig  Runeberg  (i 804-1 877),  a  Swedish  poet  of  the 
first  rank,  and  perhaps  of  more  secure  reputation  than  even  Tegner, 
whom  he  succeeded,  was  a  Swedish  Finlander  born  in  Jacobstad, 
Finland.-  As  a  boy  he  was  supported  by  his  uncle.  He  received 
his  education  at  the  college  at  Wasa  and  at  the  University  of  Abo. 
In  1830  he  became  docent  in  Latin  literature  at  the  university, 
which  had  just  been  transferred  to  Helsingfors.  He  published  in 
the  same  year  his  first  collection  of  lyrics.  In  1831  his  patriotic 
epic  poem  "  The  Grave  in  Perrho"won  the  Swedish  Academy  prize. 
A  number  of  lyric  poems  and  idylls  followed  ;  the  best  of  the  latter 
is  "The  Elk-Hunters,"  a  descriptive  poem  written  in  hexameters. 
But  his  masterpiece  was  a  series  of  poems  published  in  two  parts 

^This  is  reprinted  in  the  "Poems  of  Tegner,"  published  in  the  Scandinavian 
Classics  series. 

2  Note  on  Finnish  Literature.  Finland,  which,  as  one  of  the  results  of 
the  World  War,  has  now  secured  national  independence,  is  a  country  of 
3,400.000  inhabitants  situated  between  Sweden  and  Russia.  It  formed  a  part 
of  Sweden  from  the  latter  part  of  the  thirteenth  century  untU  1809,  when  it 
was  forcibly  annexed  to  Russia.  About  12  per  cent  of  the  inhabitants  are 
Swedish,  and  Swedish  culture  has  dominated  Finland  during  recent  cen- 
turies. However,  a  very  large  part  of  the  inhabitants  are  Finns,  related  to 
the  Magyars.  In  the  interior  the  Finnish  tribes  have  always  preserved 
tenaciously  their  own  language  and  national  customs.  They  possess  a  con- 
siderable body  of  interesting  popular  poetry  and  songs  dating  back  to  very 
early  times.  A  small  part  of  this  material  was  gathered  together  in  1822, 
but  to  Elias  Lonnrot  is  due  the  honor  of  making  a  complete,  systematic 
collection.   He  lived  among  the  Finnish  peasants  and  gathered  the  poetry  by 


SCANDINAVIAN  LITERATURE  351 

(1848  and  i860),  "Stories  of  Ensign  Stal,"  national  in  scope,  deal- 
ing with  the  unsuccessful  struggle  of  the  Finnish  people  with  the 
Russians  in  1 808-1 809.  Each  of  these  poems  is  written  in  a  dif- 
ferent meter.  They  are  intensely  patriotic  and  gloriously  poetical. 
Runeberg  wrote  with  a  classic  simplicity.  He  represents  an  ad- 
vance over  the  other  writers  of  his  time  in  the  direction  of  realism 
and  unconventionality.^ 

Sweden  produced  a  considerable  body  of  poetry  during  the  last 
quarter  of  the  century.  Viktor  Rydberg  (1828-1895),  interna- 
tional in  scope  and  Classical  in  style,  has  left  a  great  many  imagina- 
tive and  finished  lyrics.  Count  Carl  Snoilsky  (1841-1903),  whose 
life  was  spent  mainly  abroad,  wrote  descriptive  poems,  ballads,  and 
a  number  of  the  choicest  and  most  poetical  of  lyrics.  Among  the 
gifted  poets  that  represent  the  wave  of  Realism  which  swept  over 
Sweden  at  the  close  of  the  century,  three  are  especially  esteemed : 
Gutaf  Eroding,  poet  of  nature  and  of  peasant  life ;  Oscar  Levertin, 
an  introspective  poet ;  and  Verner  von  Heidenstam,  extraordi- 
narily popular,  winner  of  the  Nobel  prize  for  literature  in  19 16, 
writer  of  poems  at  first  personal  and  then  national  and  highly  in- 
spirational in  their  appeal. 

During  the  last  century  in  Sweden  poetry  has  transcended  prose 
and  dramatic  literature.    There  have  been  many  writers,  however, 

slow  degrees.  In  1835  some  twelve  thousand  lines  were  published;  in  1849 
there  appeared  an  edition  of  about  twenty-three  thousand  lines,  arranged  in 
fifty  runos,  or  cantos.  This  is  the  famous  "  Kalevala,"  which  contains  the 
old  mythological  traditions  of  the  Finnish  people  in  the  form  of  epic  songs. 
It  was  composed  by  a  number  of  bards  at  various  periods,  and  it  possesses 
a  characteristic  Finnish  quaintness  and  melancholy.  Unlike  other  national 
epics  it  is  largely  domestic  and  lyrical  rather  than  heroic  and  warlike.  It 
opens  with  a  poetical  description  of  the  origin  of  the  world.  There  is  other 
mythological  material,  but  the  poem  has  to  do  chiefly  with  the  adventures 
of  the  three  sons  of  Kalewa,  and  it  involves  a  curiously  interesting  love  story. 
"Kalevala"  is  written  in  an  eight-syllable  poetic  form  familiar  to  us  in 
"Hinwatha."  Longfellow  utilized  this  verse  in  imitation  of  the  verse  of  the 
old  Finnish  epic.  The  Kirby  translation  of  "Kalevala"  (two  volumes)  is 
obtainable  in  the  Everyman's  Scries. 

1  Edmund  Gosse  has  an  attractive  essay  on  Runeberg  in  his  "Northern 
Studies."  See  also  the  translations  in  the  valuable  volume  ".Anthology  of 
Swedish  Songs,"  by  Charles  Wharton  Stork,  in  the  Scandinavian  Classics  series. 


352  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

in  these  other  fields.  Ludvig  Almqvist  (i  793-1866),  remembered 
chiefly  for  his  romances,  was  a  versatile  author  and  possessed  an 
interesting  personality.  Fredrika  Bremer  (1801-1865),  novelist 
and  short-story  writer,  has  achieved  considerable  fame  throughout 
Europe.  Johan  August  Strindberg  (1849-1912)  calls  for  more  ex- 
tended reference,  as  he  is  the  chief  representative  of  the  modern 
Realistic  school  in  Sweden  and  is  considered  by  some  to  be  the  lead- 
ing Swedish  author.  Strindberg  was  educated  at  the  University  of 
Upsala  and  later  held  positions  as  teacher,  actor,  journalist,  and 
librarian.  His  play  "Master  Olof "  (1878)  and  his  realistic  novel, 
or  book  of  sketches,  "The  Red  Room"  (1879),  were  revolutionary 
in  their  influence.  Two  collections  of  stories, — "Married"  (1884 
and  1886),— his  autobiographical  novel,  and  his  numerous  plays 
have  been  widely  read.  A  compressed  bitterness,  a  fanatical  hatred 
of  woman,  a  marked  gloom  and  pessimism,  and  certain  vulgar 
traits  of  mind  and  life  naturally  repel  the  reader  of  Strindberg.  Yet 
he  possessed  genius  of  a  sort,  united  with  great  descriptive  power, 
brilliancy,  and  originality. 

There  have  been  a  number  of  interesting  women  writers  in  Swe- 
den. In  the  recent  period  Ellen  Key^  has  proved  an  influential 
lecturer,  educator,  and  author.  The  popularity  of  Selma  Lagerlof 
(born  1858)  has  also  passed  beyond  the  limits  of  her  own  land.  She 
has  a  strong  imaginative  and  romantic  turn  of  mind,  and  the  va- 
riety of  her  work  is  especially  noticeable.  In  1907,  at  Upsala,  she 
was  given  a  laurel  wreath  and  acclaimed  as  the  most  popular  of  liv- 
ing Swedish  writers.  Two  years  earlier  she  had  secured  the  Nobel 
prize  for  literature.  "Gosta  Berling,"  ''The  Wonderful  Story  of 
Nils,"  "Jerusalem,"  "From  a  Swedish  Homestead,"  "The  Miracles 
of  the  Antichrist,"  and  "The  Emperor  of  Portugallia"  are  popular 
in  Europe  and  America  alike.  The  last-named  book  presents  a  re- 
markable study:  its  close  is  tragic  and  pathetic,  but  the  earlier 
chapters  are  charming  prose  poems,  each  confined  to  a  single  vivid 
incident  and  each  a  little  masterpiece. 

^Pronounced  Kay. 


SCANDINAVIAN  LITERATURE  353 


Reference  List 


Bain.    Scandinavia.    Cambridge  University  Press. 

BuRCHARDT.  Norwcfjian  Life  and  Literature   (mainly  nineteenth  century). 

Oxford  University  Press. 
Gayley.    Classic  Myths  (for  the  Norse  mythology).    Ginn  and  Company. 
Craigie.   The  Icelandic  Sagas.    Cambridge  University  Press. 
GossE.    Northern  Studies.    Simmons. 

BoYESEN.    Essays  on  Scandinavian  Literature.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Campbell.    The  Comedies  of  Holberg.    Harvard  University  Press. 
GossE.    Life  of  Ibsen.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Moses.    Henrik  Ibsen.    Mitchell  Kenncrley. 
Brandes.    Ibsen;  Bjornson.    The  Macmillan  Company. 
Shaw.   The  Quintessence  of  Ibsenism.    Brentano's. 

Translations : 

Volsunga  Saga  (Magnusson  and  Morris). 

Story  of  Burnt  Njal,  the  Heimskringla,  and  the  Kalevala  (the  epic  of  the 
Finnish  people)  are  in  Everyman's  Library.   E.  P.  Button  &  Company. 

La.xdajla  Saga  (Temple  Classics).    E.  P.  Button  &  Company. 

About  fifteen  important  volumes  of  translations  from  Scandinavian 
writers  available  in  series  published  by  American-Scandinavian  Founda- 
tion, New  York.   Send  for  list. 

Bjornson.   The  Macmillan  Company. 

Ibsen.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Strindberg.    Various  publishers. 

Selma  Lagerlof.    Boublcday,  Page  &  Company. 

Saxo  Grammaticus  (Elton  and  Powell).  Bavid  Nutt,  London. 

Suggested  Topics 

The  origin  and  general  character  of  the  sagas. 

Striking  scenes  from  the  "Burnt  Njal." 

The  '"V^olsunga  Saga"  and  the  "Nibelungenlied"  compared. 

The  comedies  of  Holberg. 

Tegner  and  his  poems. 

A  study  of  one  of  Bjornson's  peasant  tales. 

Brand  and  Peer  Gynt  —  character  studies  and  comparisons. 

The  modern  problem  play  as  developed  by  Ibsen. 

A  study  of  "A  Boll's  House." 

The  plays  of  Strindberg. 

Recent  Norwegian  fiction. 

Selma  Lagerlof  and  her  work. 


CHAPTER  Xn 

ENGLISH  LITERATURE 

The  English  People 

At  the  dawn  of  authentic  history  the  island  of  Great  Britain 
was  occupied  by  an  Aryan  people  known  as  the  Celts,  the  two 
main  branches  being  the  Britons  in  the  south  and  east  and  the 
Gaels  in  the  north  and  west.  The  various  Roman  invasions,  to- 
gether with  the  conquest  and  occupation  of  the  land,  extending 
from  the  coming  of  Julius  Caesar  in  55  B.C.  to  the  final  withdrawal 
of  the  Romans  about  a.d.  410,  had  no  effect  of  importance  upon 
the  Celtic  people,  the  land,  or  the  language.  The  English  people 
dwelt  originally  along  the  North  Sea  from  the  mouth  of  the  Elbe 
to  Jutland.  They  were  a  Teutonic  people,  consisting  of  three 
tribes,  the  Angles,  the  Jutes,  and  the  Saxons,  from  the  first  of 
which  we  have  the  words  "England"  and  "English."  These  people, 
overrunning  and  conquering  the  present  England  in  the  latter  half 
of  the  fifth  century,  became  and  have  since  remained  the  domi- 
nant element  in  the  English  race.  There  was  of  course  some 
admixture  of  Celtic  blood,  but  the  Celts  were  almost  entirely  ex- 
terminated or  driven  into  Ireland,  Wales,  and  the  north  of  Scotland. 
The  Danish  occupation  (1013-1042)  was  too  brief  to  make  any  de- 
cided contribution.  The  Norman  Conquest  (1066)  resulted  in  the 
Normans'  becoming  English  rather  than  the  reverse.  And  in  its 
subsequent  history  of  nearly  nine  centuries,  although  subjected  to 
foreign  influences  of  great  and  lasting  importance  in  many  ways, 
the  English  stock  has  remained  fundamentally  the  Anglo-Saxon 
with  which  it  started. 

That  stock  had  at  the  beginning  and  has  always  retained  certain 
characteristic  traits.  The  most  noticeable,  perhaps,  is  the  seafaring 
tendency.  The  English  in  their  German  home  were  "sea-wolves 
living  on  the  pillage  of  the  world,"  as  an  old  chronicler  puts  it. 

354 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  355 

They  have  been  sea-rovers  and  far  wanderers  ever  since — and 
pirates  as  well,  until  piracy  gave  place  to  the  establishment  of 
colonies,  protectorates,  and  spheres  of  influence.  And  so  through 
the  spirit  of  daring  and  hardihood  and  love  of  the  sea  the  mighty 
British  Empire  has  arisen.  Another  element  in  the  English  char- 
acter has  been  its  strong  emphasis  upon  domestic  life.  The  bond 
of  kinship  and  the  consistently  high  place  of  woman  in  the  house- 
hold have  been  especially  prominent  in  English  life  and  literature. 
In  the  early  heathen  poem  of  "Beowulf"  Queen  Wealhtheow  oc- 
cupies a  chair  beside  her  husband  Hrothgar  in  the  great  hall. 
Another  trait  has  been  the  insistence  upon  the  idea  of  self- 
government  in  the  political  field,  a  survival  of  the  primitive  Anglo- 
Saxon  assembly — a  tendency  to  curb  and  restrain  the  ruler  in  the 
interest  of  the  people.  There  is  many  a  dark  and  humiliating 
page  in  English  history,  but  in  the  long  run  that  history  shows  a 
steady  progress  in  the  direction  of  government  by  the  people. 
Such  landmarks  as  Magna  Charta,  the  Bill  of  Rights,  the  strug- 
gle between  king  and  Parliament,  and  in  our  own  times  between 
the  Lords  and  the  Commons,  between  the  mother  country  and  its 
dependencies,  between  capital  and  labor,  bear  witness  to  the  in- 
sistence of  the  English  people  upon  this  great  political  principle. 
One  other  quality  of  importance  is  the  generally  conservative  tem- 
per of  the  English  people.  They  have  a  very  deep  and  strong  re- 
gard for  established  conventions,  institutions,  and  usages.  "Every 
Englishman  loves  a  lord,"  but,  we  are  bound  to  add,  only  as  long 
as  he  behaves  himself.  The  Englishman's  deep-seated  conservatism 
goes  hand  in  hand  with  a  constant  though  very  gradual  modifica- 
tion of  the  existing  order  to  form  a  better  one.  Let  there  be,  says 
Tennyson, 

"Some  reverence  for  the  laws  ourselves  have  made, 
Some  patient  force  to  change  them  when  we  will." 

And  there  have  been  some  very  fundamental  changes,  which,  how- 
ever, have  been  nearly  always  accomplished  little  by  little,  by  way 
of  expediency  and  opportunism — sometimes  even  by  sheer  acci- 
dent— rather  than  by  revolution. 


3S6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  English  Language 

What  we  have  said  of  the  English  race  holds  true  also  of  its 
language.  It  is  a  very  rich,  flexible,  and  composite  language,  but 
a  very  large  proportion  of  the  vocabulary  of  its  common  speech 
remains  Anglo-Saxon.  There  has  been  very  little  borrowing  from 
the  Celtic  or  the  Scandinavian,  and  from  the  Norman-French  much 
less  than  has  often  been  supposed.  The  Normans  made  no  attempt 
to  impose  their  language  upon  the  English  people.  Norman-French 
prevailed  only  in  the  relatively  limited  circles  of  the  court,  the  law, 
and  the  aristocratic  and  privileged  classes.  Subsequent  intercourse 
with  France  is  responsible  for  the  great  bulk  of  French  terms  in 
English.  The  dictionary  reveals  the  fact  that  considerably  more 
than  half  of  our  vocabulary  is  from  the  Latin  and  Greek.  Much  of 
the  Latin  came  through  the  medium  of  the  French ;  some  of  it,  and 
also  of  the  Greek,  came  through  the  revival  of  classical  learning 
during  the  Renaissance ;  and  some  of  it  is  due  to  the  influence  of 
science  and  its  need  of  precision  in  terms.  But  the  classical  element 
in  our  language  is  the  borrowed  element — the  speech  of  the  edu- 
cated and  the  cultured.  The  common  man's  vocabulary,  that  of 
the  English  Bible,  and  even  that  of  many  of  our  greatest  poets 
are  predominantly  Anglo-Saxon.  The  English  vocabulary  has,  of 
course,  been  further  enriched  by  words  brought  home  from  all 
quarters  of  the  world  by  crusaders,  explorers,  traders,  and  travelers. 
The  result  is  an  extremely  composite  speech,  admirably  suited  to 
the  production  of  a  great  literature. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  Period 

"Beowulf."  The  earliest  English  literature  was  the  product  of 
heathen  times  and  a  heathen  people,  although  its  repeated  copy- 
ing by  the  monks  shows  Christian  insertions  and  attempts  to  give 
it  a  Christian  coloring.  The  greatest  of  Old  English  poems  is  the 
splendid  epic  of  "Beowulf,"  one  of  the  most  notable  epics  in  world 
literature.  It  is  probably  of  continental  origin  and  is  usually 
held  to  date,  in  its  present  form,  from  the  later  years  of  the  seventh 
century.  A  very  brief  summary  of  the  story  must  suflice : 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  357 

Hrothgar,  king  of  the  West  Danes,  is  harried  by  a  cruel  fen-monster, 
Grendel,  who  breaks  into  his  great  mead-hall  by  night  and  devours  his 
beloved  thanes.  The  youthful  Beowulf,  of  Gothland,  hears  of  the  rav- 
ages of  Grendel  and  with  fourteen  of  his  tried  companions  goes  to  the 
relief  of  Hrothgar.  There  is  a  splendid  description  of  the  fight  between 
Grendel  and  Beowulf.  The  latter  tears  the  monster's  arm  from  his  body 
and  leaves  him  to  crawl  away  and  die  in  the  mere.  This  is  the  first  episode 
of  the  poem.  The  second  deals  with  the  struggle  between  Beowulf  and 
the  mother  of  Grendel,  fiercer  and  more  vindictive  than  her  son,  who 
renews  the  raids  upon  the  hall  of  Hrothgar.  To  accomplish  his  quest 
Beowulf  descends  to  the  bottom  of  the  darksome  mere,  and  there  for 
a  whole  day  the  struggle  continues.  Finally  Beowulf  slays  the  monster 
and  reappears  on  the  surface  with  the  head  of  Grendel,  and  there  is  great 
rejoicing.  The  third  episode  recounts  the  struggle  of  Beowulf  in  his  old 
age  and  in  his  own  land,  over  which  he  has  ruled  for  many  years  as  king, 
with  a  monstrous  fire-dragon,  the  terror  of  his  people.  Beowulf  seeks 
out  the  dragon  in  his  cave  and  slays  him,  but  receives  his  own  death 
wound  in  the  struggle. 

The  poem  is  full  of  fine  passages  which  reveal  the  life  and  habits 
of  the  English  people  of  the  earliest  known  times.  The  vivid  de- 
scriptions of  the  solitary  coast  guard,  of  the  ship  of  Beowulf,  of  the 
great  mead-hall  of  the  thanes  and  their  armor,  of  the  kingly 
Hrothgar  and  his  noble  queen,  of  the  glittering  hoard  of  the  fire- 
dragon,  and,  most  of  all,  of  the  sea — the  "swan-road,"  with  its 
heaving  billows  and  stinging  spray — are  as  fine  as  any  in  our 
literature.  The  spirit  of  hardihood  and  loyalty  on  the  part  of  the 
thanes  and  of  gracious  appreciation  on  the  part  of  King  Hrothgar 
is  vividly  brought  out.  And  the  combats  are  narrated  in  a  swift 
and  vigorous  and  splendidly  graphic  way. 

As  to  its  form,  the  poem  consists  of  nearly  thirty-two  hundred 
lines  in  the  characteristically  Anglo-Saxon  alliterative  form  of 
verse.   Here  are  two  lines,  to  illustrate: 

"J>a  com  of  more     under  wist-hleo(Sum^ 
Grendel  4'ongan  ;     Godes  yrre  bar." 

There  came  from  the  moor     under  the  misty-slopes 
Grendel  going  ;     God's  wrath  he  bore. 

1  1>  and   ti=  th. 


3S8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

It  will  be  seen  that  each  hne  is  divided  into  two  parts  bound  to- 
gether by  accented  syllables  beginning  with  the  same  letter  in  the 
first  half-line  and  in  the  second.  The  number  of  unaccented  syl- 
lables is  variable,  giving  the  rhythm  an  irregular  and  somewhat 
broken  but  strong  and  rugged  quality.  The  language  is  con- 
densed, energetic,  colorful,  with  no  extended  similes  as  in  the 
classical  epics,  but  with  an  occasional  compact  metaphor  such  as 
the  "sea-steed"  (the  ship)  or  a  typical  epithet  such  as  "ring- 
giver"  (the  king).  The  poem  in  its  present  form  is  probably  the 
result  of  a  combination  of  several  originally  distinct  narratives. 
The  poet  (scop)  and  the  reciter  (gleeman)  occupied  honored 
places  in  court. 

The  other  poems  of  the  heathen  period — "Widsith"  ("The  Far 
Wanderer"),  "Deor's  Lament,"  "Waldere,"  and  "The  Fight  at 
Finnsburg" — are  short,  some  of  them  being  mere  fragments,  and 
though  significant  are  of  much  less  importance  than  the  great 
epic  of  "Beowulf." 

The  Northumbrian  school.  The  Anglo-Saxons  were  converted 
to  the  Christian  faith  toward  the  end  of  the  sixth  century  by  mis- 
sionaries from  Rome  and  from  Ireland.  Under  the  influence  of 
the  latter,  Northumbria  became  the  center  of  a  considerable  lit- 
erary culture,  fostered  largely  by  the  monasteries  of  Whitby  and 
Jarrow.  The  most  important  works  of  the  Northumbrian  school 
are  Bede's  "Ecclesiastical  History"  (written  in  Latin),  the  poems 
attributed  to  the  inspired  swineherd  Caedmon,  including  poetic 
paraphrases  of  Genesis,  Exodus,  and  Daniel,  and  the  poems  at- 
tributed to  Cynewulf,  the  most  notable  being  "Christ,"  "Elene," 
"Andreas,"  and  "The  Phoenix."  These  last  reveal  an  appreciation 
of  the  softer  and  milder  aspects  of  life  and  nature,  the  result, 
doubtless,  of  the  influence  of  the  Christian  faith.  Aside  from  the 
religious  pieces  just  mentioned,  there  have  survived  several  short 
poems  on  secular  themes;  for  example,  "The  Wanderer,"  "The 
Seafarer,"  "The  Wife's  Complaint,"  and  "The  Lover's  Message." 
Practically  all  of  the  original  Northumbrian  writings  perished  in 
the  Danish  invasions,  and  they  have  come  down  to  us  only  in  the 
form  of  copies  in  the  West  Saxon  dialect. 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  359 

Alfred  the  Great  delivered  his  country  temporarily  from  the  rule 
of  the  Danes  and  established  the  overlordship  of  the  West  Saxons. 
He  did  his  best  to  encourage  learning  and  literature  among  his 
people.  His  reign  covered  the  years  from  871  to  901.  He  himself 
translated  from  the  Latin  certain  works  which  he  judged  best 
suited  to  be  of  use  to  the  clergy  and  the  people.  These  were  the 
four  gospels,  Bede's  "Ecclesiastical  History,"  Pope  Gregory's  "The 
Pastoral  Care,"  Boethius's  "Consolations  of  Philosophy,"  and 
Orosius's  manual  of  history  and  geography.  He  also  gave  an  or- 
dered course  and  amplified  form  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle, 
which  had  been  begun  long  before  his  time  and  was  continued 
after  his  death  to  the  year  1 154.  Alfred's  age  was  an  age  of  prose, 
the  only  poetry  of  note  being  the  two  graphic  and  exceedingly 
spirited  narratives  of  "The  Battle  of  Brunanburh"  and  "The 
Battle  of  Maldon" — the  latter  the  final  utterance  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  poetry. 

The  Anglo-Norman  Period 

The  language.  The  Norman  Conquest  was  followed  by  the 
submergence  of  English  as  a  literary  language  for  a  period  of 
about  a  hundred  years,  although  English  continued  to  be  the 
spoken  language  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people.  With  its  re- 
appearance in  Layamon's  "Brut,"  about  1205,  it  was  no  longer 
Anglo-Saxon  but  what  is  known  as  Middle  English,  which  pre- 
vailed until  about  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century.  It  was  Eng- 
lish with  a  French  infusion  and  largely  stripped  of  the  complicated 
inflections  of  the  Anglo-Saxon.  The  new  verse  form  retained  the 
rhythmic  accent  of  the  Anglo-Saxon,  abandoned  the  device  of 
alliteration,  and  adopted  from  the  French  the  very  im{X)rtant 
element  of  rime. 

The  reappearance  of  English  literature  and  its  course  from  about 
1 1 50  to  almost  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  are  marked  by  the 
rise  and  flourishing  of  the  romance,  a  favorite  literary  form  of  the 
French  invaders.'  The  tales  present  a  remarkable  variety.  Some  of 

^The  reader  is  referred  to  the  chapter  on  French  literature  for  a  descrip- 
tion of  this  form. 


36o  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

them  are  in  prose  and  some  in  verse.  They  are  often  of  intermi- 
nable length,  loose  and  rambling  in  plot,  and  rather  conventional  in 
characterization.  'I'hey  deal  with  Charlemagne  and  Roland ;  with 
Troy,  Alexander,  and  ^neas ;  with  the  English  or  Scandinavian 
heroes,  including  Guy  of  Warwick  and  King  Horn;  and,  most 
significantly  of  all,  with  King  Arthur  and  the  Round  Table. 

The  Arthurian  cycle  of  romances  is  one  of  the  richest  manifesta- 
tions of  genius  in  English  literature,  as  it  is  also  in  French.  The 
earlier  romances  of  the  cycle  include  Layamon's  "Brut,"  narratives 
about  Merlin,  Lancelot,  Tristram,  and  the  Holy  Grail,  and  the 
delightful  and  finely  poetic  tale  of  ''Gawain  and  the  Green 
Knight."  The  year  1485  witnessed  the  printing  by  Caxton  of  the 
splendid  collection  of  tales  in  prose  by  Sir  Thomas  Malory,  ^'Le 
Morte  d'Arthur,"  translated  from  unknown  French  sources.  The 
various  separate  groups  of  tales  are  here  clustered,  somewhat 
loosely,  about  the  dominating  figure  of  the  king.  Malory's  narra- 
tive is  rambling,  discursive,  and  somewhat  incoherent ;  but  he 
presents  in  glowing  colors  the  high  deeds  of  the  Round  Table,  the 
pathos  of  the  unrequited  love  of  Elaine,  the  light-hearted  gayety 
■  of  Gareth,  the  tragic  love  potion  of  Tristram  and  Isolt,  the  saintly 
Galahad,  the  awful  splendor  of  the  mystic  grail,  the  shadow  of 
evil  in  the  guilty  love  of  Lancelot  and  the  queen,  the  confusion  of 
the  last  battle,  and  the  passing  of  the  king  on  the  shadowy  barge. 

"Now  put  me  into  the  barge,  said  the  king.  And  so  he  did  softly; 
and  there  received  him  three  queens  with  great  mourning ;  and  so  they 
set  them  down,  and  in  one  of  their  laps  King  Arthur  laid  his  head.  .  .  . 
And  so  then  they  rowed  from  the  land,  and  Sir  Bedivere  beheld  all  those 
ladies  go  from  him.  Then  Sir  Bedivere  cried:  Ah  my  lord  Arthur, 
what  shall  become  of  me,  now  ye  go  from  me  and  leave  me  here  alone 
among  mine  enemies?  Comfort  thyself,  said  the  king,  and  do  as  well 
as  thou  mayest,  for  in  me  is  no  trust  for  to  trust  in;  for  I  will  into 
the  vale  of  Axilion  to  heal  me  of  my  grievous  wound :  and  if  thou  hear 
never  more  of  me.  pray  for  my  soul." 

Throughout  the  entire  book  runs  the  high  and  fine  devotion  to 
the  nobler  elements  of  that  lofty  chivalry  that  lends  to  all  romance 
its  garment  of  beauty. 


3^r«  cn^(c6  fCbcince  of 

^upn^  (ou(««  /  039jrw 

goftip  tope  paffmg  g  €^; 

cct^png  alt  gla^me  an^ 

^fitcc.  03WuWt§e(2 

6enMcc  ^ucr  of  at  ccpcn<aut  fmncro  djat 

Gficfif  eo  ^tbcllc  ae  ^ou  UMt  d;p  fdf^ 

tbt'tl?  t^c  cbil^tti)  of  mc»);jj02  ti?a(  Cbae 

ti3ecauf«tbbpti?outbctt  incajna6e/an^ 

mace  mat)  tt)  tfec  cn^2  of  t^elbozloc.l^a; 

m  mpn^  8(«fr<^  30ffu  «>f  aH  tfcc  fototbcc 

t^af  tfeou  fuff cc^fit  it)  ttp  ma^o^  ^ratb 

pngc  np^  to  tip  Ctcffc^  paffiot)/  3>)  tC«% 

tbr;ic^mop  6ol(ott)  paffiot)  tbae  oc^p''  ' 

mx>  to  6:  it)  t^p  Jscupnc  6:r(5  /  8p  coufcp(« 

of  an  Ifcc  ?ol€  tjpnpfe .  fot  t§e  raufot)  of 

5-^  at  mat^6pn^:.]^aucmpnC«  fcffi^  3^ru 

of  al  t^c  C5tc6e  ^ccocd  g  angupff^^  g  fo; 

C?^  totbco  d}a<  t^ou  fuff cc^fit  it)  d;p  6en^ct 

f  fcff^  afbcc  t£)y  pafftoi)  ot)  d;c  ct»ffc/U)5a . 

t^ou  tbccc  Ce<raic^  of  t^y  ^jfcpptc  Ju^ae 


1^ 


m 


li 


CAXTON'S   PRINTING 

From  the  "XV  O's,"  c,  14QI.    The  fifteen  prayers,  so  called  from  the  fact  of 
their  all  commencing  with  the  letter  0 


362  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

One  of  the  most  exquisite  lyric  poems  of  the  time  is  "The 
Pearl,"  a  bereaved  father's  vision  of  his  little  dead  daughter  Mar- 
garet, written  in  regular  rimed  stanzas  with  the  touching  refrain 
"My  precious  pearl  withouten  spot."  The  French  lyric  impulse 
also  had  its  effect  in  the  production  of  numerous  songs,  love  lyrics, 
and  devotional  pieces.  Among  these  are  the  deeply  spiritual 
"Love-Rune"  of  Thomas  de  Hales,  the  delightful  "Cuckoo  Song," 
and  the  graceful  and  charming  lyrics  "Alisoun"  and  "Lent  is 
Come  with  Love  to  Town" — fresh,  spontaneous,  and  finely  ex- 
pressive of  the  essential  lyric  spirit. 

The  Age  of  Chaucer 

Geoffrey  Chaucer  represents  the  full-blown  flower  of  English 
medieval  literature.  He  is  by  far  the  greatest  poet  of  the  Middle 
English  period  and  one  of  the  greatest  in  world  literature.  He  was 
born  in  London  about  the  year  1340,  of  a  well-to-do  family  of 
merchants.  He  was  employed  in  the  household  of  Edward  III,  saw 
military  service  and  a  period  of  imprisonment  in  France,  was 
ransomed  by  the  king,  was  elected  member  of  Parliament,  occu- 
pied many  official  positions  under  the  royal  patronage,  was  sent 
on  a  number  of  diplomatic  missions,  two  of  which  took  him  to 
Italy,  was  pensioned  for  his  various  services,  and  died  in  1400. 
His  extremely  wide  and  varied  contact  with  the  life  of  his  times, 
his  keenly  observant  eye,  his  appreciation  of  all  the  currents  and 
backwaters  of  the  age,  and  his  shrewd  and  richly  humorous  nature 
made  him  the  ideal  interpreter  of  the  life  in  which  he  lived 
and  moved. 

In  his  early  years  Chaucer  was  strongly  under  the  influence  of 
the  literary  form  and  sentiment  of  France.  The  product  of  these 
years  was  "The  Book  of  the  Duchess" — a  tribute,  upon  her 
death,  to  the  wife  of  John  of  Gaunt — and  a  graceful  translation 
of  a  portion  of  the  popular  allegorical  French  poem  "  The  Romance 
of  the  Rose."  His  journeys  to  Italy  brought  him  into  contact 
with  the  flower  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  in  art,  architecture, 
scholarship,  civic  splendor,  and,  most  of  all,  poetry — that  of  the 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  363 

great  masters  Dante,  Petrarch,  and  Boccaccio.  The  Italian  influ- 
ence is  clearly  evident  in  "The  House  of  Fame"  and  "The  Parlia- 
ment of  Fowls."  More  important,  however,  is  the  long  narrative 
poem  "Troilus  and  Creseide,"  based  upon  Boccaccio's  "  Filostrato." 
Another  poem  born  of  his  Italian  experience  is  "The  Legend  of 
Good  Women,"  adapted  from  a  Latin  work  of  Boccaccio.  The 
best  portion  is  the  prologue,  with  the  poet's  vision  of  ladies  and 
with  the  highly  poetic  passage  about  the  daisy,  Chaucer's  best- 
beloved  flower. 

The  highest  product  of  Chaucer's  genius  is  ''The  Canterbury 
Tales."  They  represent  his  so-called  English  period  and  are  the 
product  of  his  fully  matured  powers.  The  structure  is  the  favorite 
frame-scheme,  like  that  of  Boccaccio's  "Decameron."  Thirty-two 
pilgrims,  including  the  poet  himself,  are  journeying  to  Canter- 
bury, and  to  beguile  the  time  agree  to  tell  two  stories  each  on  the 
way  and  two  on  the  return  journey.  Of  this  projected  total  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  tales,  Chaucer  actually  wrote  only 
twenty-four,  and  some  of  these  he  left  unfinished.  The  tales  are 
of  many  types — romance,  fabliau,  legend,  sermon,  etc.  But  bet- 
ter than  the  tales  themselves  is  the  incomparable  Prologue — a  de- 
scription and  characterization  of  the  various  pilgrims,  so  vivid  and 
penetrating  as  to  constitute  a  veritable  panorama  of  almost  the 
whole  of  English  medieval  society.  Nowhere  in  our  literature  will 
the  reader  find  more  graphic  portraits  than  those  of  the  grave  and 
courteous  knight,  the  gay  young  squire,  the  dainty  prioress,  the 
worldly  monk,  friar,  and  pardoner,  the  humble  and  deeply  religious 
parson,  the  coarse  and  vulgar  shipman,  the  garrulous  wife  of  Bath, 
and  the  studious  clerk  of  Oxford. 

"A  clerk  ther  was  of  Oxenford  also, 
That  un-to  logik  hadde  longe  y-go. 
As  lene  was  his  hors  as  is  a  rake, 
An  he  nas  nat  right  fat  I  undertake ; 
But  loked  holwe,  and  ther-to  soberly. 
Ful  thredbar  was  his  overest  courtepy;^ 

1  Coat. 


364  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

For  he  had  geten  him  yet  no  benefyce, 

Ne  was  so  worldly  for  to  have  offyce. 

For  him  was  lever  have  at  his  beddes  heed 

Twenty  bokes,  clad  in  blak  or  reed, 

Of  Aristotle  and  his  philosophye, 

Than  robes  riche,  or  fithele,^  or  gay  sautrye.^ 

And  al  be  that  he  was  a  philosophre, 

Yet  hadde  he  but  litel  gold  in  cofre ; 

But  al  that  he  mighte  of  his  freendes  hente.^ 

On  bokes  and  on  lerninge  he  it  spente, 

And  bisily  gan  for  the  soules  preye 

Of  hem  that  yaf  him  wher-with  to  scoleye  .  .  . 

Souning  in  moral  vertu  was  his  speche, 

And  gladly  wolde  he  lerne,  and  gladly  teche." 

Mr.  Arthur  Symons  says  of  Chaucer, 

"His  whole  vision  of  life  is  the  vision  of  the  poet ;  his  language  and 
versification  have  the  magic  of  poetry ;  he  has  wisdom,  tenderness,  a 
high  gravity,  tinged  with  illuminating  humor ;  no  one  in  our  language 
has  said  more  touching  and  beautiful  things,  straight  out  of  his  heart, 
about  birds  and  flowers  and  grass." 

Chaucer's  poetic  form  and  diction  are  careful,  rich,  varied, 
pointed,  and  musical  to  an  almost  unparalleled  degree.  Besides 
the  poems  mentioned  he  tried  his  hand,  and  always  with  masterly 
success,  at  such  intricate  French  lyrical  forms  as  the  rondel,  virelai, 
and  cha7it  royal.  His  favorite  meters,  however,  are  the  four-stress 
couplet  of  the  early  poems,  the  seven-line  stanza  of  "Troilus"  and 
some  other  poems,  and  the  five-stress  couplet,  the  favorite  form  in 
"The  Canterbury  Tales."  Chaucer's  influence  upon  the  English 
language,  moreover,  was  of  decided  importance.  In  his  hands  it 
became  a  flexible,  richly  varied,  and  finely  fused  medium — the 
essential  basis  of  modern  English. 

"Piers  Plowman."  William  Langland,  a  contemporary  of 
Chaucer,  is  the  supposed  author  of  "Piers  Plownnan."  This  poem 
is  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  intense  outcries  against  a  harsh  and 
unjust  social  order,  an  outburst  of  indignation  at  the  worldliness 
of  the  Church  and  the  cruel  indifference  of  the  ruling  class  to  the 
1  Fiddle.  2  Harp.  3  Get. 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  365 

burdens  of  the  poor.  Christ  is  conceived  of  as  mystically  incar- 
nate in  the  lowly  plowman  Piers,  who  refuses  to  lead  anxious  in- 
quirers to  the  truth  until  they  set  their  hand  to  the  honest  labor 
which  is  his  own  lot  and  portion.  Langland  thus  explores  a  field 
to  which  Chaucer  was  largely  indifferent.  The  poem  is  a  com- 
posite of  several  versions,  probably  the  work  of  more  than  one 
hand,  and  is  rude  and  cumbersome  in  style  and  confused  in  struc- 
ture; but  it  contains  splendid  passages  of  intensely  vivid  de- 
scription and  of  deep  moral  earnestness.  It  is  written  in  the  Old 
English  alliterative  form. 

The  ballads.  The  century  following  Chaucer  (the  fifteenth) 
is  remarkably  barren  of  noteworthy  writers.  The  only  important 
exceptions  to  the  generally  low  level  of  literature  in  this  century 
are  the  "Morte  d'Arthur"  (see  page  360)  and  the  ballads.  A  bal- 
lad is  a  short  narrative  poem  adapted  for  recitation  or  chanting. 
The  origin  of  ballad  poetry  has  been  a  subject  of  much  contro- 
versy. Its  source  is  certainly  in  humble  life,  and  its  development 
probably  the  result  of  gradual  variations  and  additions  by  in- 
dividual reciters.  The  date  of  composition  or  formation  is  uncer- 
tain, but  the  greater  part  of  the  three  hundred  and  six  extant 
ballads  of  England  and  Scotland  probably  originated  in  the  fif- 
teenth century.  The  ballads  deal  with  a  wide  variety  of  themes. 
Some,  such  as  "Chevy  Chase"  and  "Sir  Patrick  Spens."  present 
historical  subjects.  There  are  ballads  of  love  and  domestic  life, 
such  as  "Fair  Annie,"  "Clerk  Saunders,"  "Katharine  Jaffray,"  and 
"Edward."  There  are  those  that  deal  with  the  supernatural,  such 
as  "Thomas  Rymer,"  "Kemp  Owyne,"  and  "The  Wife  of  Usher's 
Well."  And  there  is  a  whole  series  of  ballads  of  outlaw  life  grouped 
about  Robin  Hood  and  his  exploits  in  Sherwood  Forest.  The  cus- 
tomary ballad  form  is  the  four-line  stanza  of  alternate  four-stress 
and  three-stress  lines,  the  second  and  fourth  lines  riming.  The 
following  stanza  from  "Sir  Patrick  Spens"  will  illustrate: 

"Half  o'er,  half  o'er  to  Aberdour, 
Tis  fifty  fadom  deep, 
And  there  lies  guid  Sir  Patrick  Spence, 
Wi'  the  Scots  lords  at  his  feet." 


366  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  use  of  refrain  and  repetition  is  constant.  The  Hnes  are  often 
irregular  and  halting,  the  rime  imperfect,  the  verse  crude  and 
awkward,  and  the  transitions  abrupt.  But  for  intensity  of  dra- 
matic effect,  for  suspense  and  often  poignant  suggestion,  for  con- 
crete and  vivid  diction,  for  masterly  use  of  nature  as  background 
and  accessory,  and,  above  all,  for  vital  contact  with  the  realities 
of  humble  and  local  experience  our  ballad  literature  is  most 
significant. 


The  Period  of  the  Renaissance 

The  Renaissance  spirit.  The  new  interpretation  of  life  known  as 
the  Renaissance  began  to  manifest  itself  in  England  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  VH  (1485-1509),  was  further  developed  in  that  of 
Henry  VHI,  and  came  to  its  splendid  maturity  in  that  of  Eliza- 
beth ( 1 558-1603).  In  a  general  way  it  was  characterized  by  the 
same  manifestations  as  in  Italy  and  France,  but  was  somewhat 
later  in  reaching  its  culmination.  Its  beginnings  were  marked  by  a 
revived  study  of  the  classics,  a  movement  usually  designated  by 
the  term  "Humanism,"  which  had  its  center  chiefly  at  Oxford  and 
came  through  the  channels  of  Italian  culture  and  art.  Hand  in 
hand  with  the  Humanist  movement  went  the  religious  Reformation, 
reaching  a  crisis  in  the  rupture  of  Henry  VIII  with  the  Pope  and 
moving  on  through  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  to  the  Puritanism  of 
the  seventeenth  century.  Another  important  element  was  the 
break-up  of  the  feudal  system  and  of  the  various  medieval  institu- 
tions involved  in  it.  The  Renaissance  was  therefore  chiefly  a 
movement  toward  the  liberation  and  expansion  of  indi\adual  per- 
sonality. It  was  powerfully  accentuated  during  the  reign  of  Eliza- 
beth by  the  presence  of  a  deep  nationalistic  and  patriotic  impulse 
consequent  upon  the  decisive  victory  over  the  Spanish  Armada 
in  1588,  by  the  expansion  of  world  view  attendant  upon  the  voy- 
ages of  discovery  to  America  and  India,  and  by  the  wide  dis- 
semination of  literature  made  possible  by  the  establishing  of  the 
printing  press.  The  Renaissance  movement  was  worldly  and  ma- 
terialistic in  essence,  but  the  Reformation,  while  going  hand  in 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  367 

hand  with  it  in  its  liberation  of  the  individual  conscience,  acted 
definitely  as  a  corrective  to  its  prevailingly  secular  character. 

Among  the  earlier  literary  exponents  of  the  Renaissance  im- 
pulse the  most  important  were  Wyatt  and  Surrey,  who  introduced 
into  England  certain  Italian  forms, — particularly  the  sonnet  and 
blank  verse, — and  whose  poems  are  remarkable  for  sincerity,  light- 
ness, and  grace ;  and  Sir  Thomas  More,  whose  prose  treatise 
''Utopia"  presents  the  author's  conception  of  an  ideal  society, 
together  with  some  very  severe  strictures  upon  that  of  his  own  time. 

Elizabethan  lyric  poetry.  The  reign  of  Elizabeth  and  that  of 
James  I  witnessed  an  outburst  of  literary  activity  unparalleled  in 
English  history.  The  lyric  impulse  was  strong  and  found  a  rich 
and  harmonious  response.  Much  of  the  lyric  poetry  of  the  time 
is  contained  in  the  popular  form  of  miscellanies,  bearing  oftentimes 
rather  fanciful  titles,  such  as  "A  Paradise  of  Dainty  Devices," 
''A  Handful  of  Pleasant  Delights,"  "England's  Helicon,"  and 
others.  A  favorite  literary' exercise  was  that  of  the  sonnet  sequence. 
Almost  every  poet  of  note  felt  called  upon  to  produce  such  a 
series,  addressed  either  to  a  real  or  to  an  imaginary  mistress.  Among 
the  sonnet  sequences  of  the  time  we  note  especially  that  of  Samuel 
Daniel  to  "Delia"  and  of  Michael  Drayton  to  "Idea."  More  im- 
portant is  the  series  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  "Astrophel  and  Stella," 
addressed  to  a  real  person,  Penelope  Devereux,  who,  in  spite  of 
the  poetic  appeal  of  her  lover,  became  the  wife  of  another.  The 
issue  of  Spenser's  "Amoretti"  was  more  fortunate,  as  he  was  haj)- 
pily  married  to  the  lady  who  inspired  his  sonnets.  There  has  been 
much  speculation  as  to  the  identity  of  the  persons  to  whom  Shake- 
speare's hundred  and  fifty-four  sonnets  were  addressed.  They 
represent  the  absolute  high-water  mark  of  sonnet-writing  in  our 
literature,  and  are  supremely  poetic  in  tone,  mood,  structure,  and 
exquisite  music  of  phrase.  They  are  in  the  typical  English  form, 
as  practically  all  Elizabethan  sonnets  are — four  quatrains  and  a 
closing  couplet.    Here  is  a  specimen: 

"When  to  the  sessions  of  sweet  silent  thought 
I  summon  up  remembrance  of  things  past, 
I  sigh  the  lack  of  many  a  thing  I  sought, 


368  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

And  with  old  woes  new  wail  my  dear  time's  waste 
Then  can  I  drown  an  eye,  unused  to  flow, 
For  precious  friends  hid  in  death's  dateless  night, 
And  weep  afresh  love's  long  since  cancell'd  woe. 
And  moan  the  expense  of  many  a  vanish'd  sight : 
Then  can  I  grieve  at  grievances  foregone, 
And  heavily  from  woe  to  woe  tell  o'er 
The  sad  account  of  fore-bemoaned  moan, 
^\^^ich  I  new  pay  as  if  not  paid  before. 

But  if  the  while  I  think  on  thee,  dear  friend, 
All  losses  are  restored  and  sorrows  end." 


Other  lyric  forms  were  abundant  also  and  were  developed  to 
a  high  degree  of  perfection.  The  "Hymns"  and  "Epithalamion" 
("Bridal  Song")  of  Spenser  have  never  been  surpassed  in  their  kind. 
Shakespeare's  reputation  as  a  poet  would  be  among  the  highest  if 
he  had  written  nothing  more  than  the  score  or  so  of  exquisite  lyrics 
distributed  through  his  plays — such  immortal  songs  as  "O  mistress 
mine,  where  are  you  roaming?"  "Take,  O,  take  those  lips  away," 
"Hark,  hark!  the  lark,"  "Under  the  greenwood  tree,"  and  others. 

The  narrative  poetry  of  the  period  was  hardly  less  important, 
but,  with  the  exception  of  that  of  Spenser,  must  be  passed  over 
with  the  mere  mention  of  Marlowe's  "Hero  and  Leander"  and 
Shakespeare's  "Lucrece"  and  "Venus  and  Adonis,"  poems  of 
great  sensuous  beauty  and  great  imaginative  power. 

Edmund  Spenser  (1552-1599),  called  by  common  consent  "the 
poet's  poet,"  was,  apart  from  Shakespeare,  the  greatest  poet  of 
the  age.  He  received  his  education  at  Cambridge,  acquiring  there 
his  insight  into  Renaissance  culture  and  classical  philosophy. 
There  followed  four  years  as  courtier  in  London  and  the  formation 
of  influential  friendships.  The  rest  of  his  life,  except  for  three 
visits  to  London,  was  spent  in  Ireland  as  secretary  to  the  lord 
deputy,  whose  harsh  and  vindictive  rule  seems  to  have  met  with 
Spenser's  entire  approbation.  Kilcolman  Castle  near  Cork,  occu- 
pied by  the  poet,  was  plundered  and  burned  in  one  of  the  frequent 
outbreaks  of  the  time,  and  Spenser,  whose  hope  of  further  official 
preferment  was  disappointed,  died  a  poor  man  in  London. 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE 


369 


We  have  mentioned  Spenser's  sonnets  and  some  of  his  other 
lyric  poems.  ''The  Shepherd's  Calendar"  and  "Colin  Clout's 
Come  Home  Again"  are  in  the  pastoral  style,  an  artificial  and  con- 
ventional form  in  which  rustics  discourse  on  love  and  nature.  His 
great  work  is  "The  Faerie  Queene."  As  Spenser  planned  it,  it  was 
to  consist  of  twenty-four  books,  twelve  on  the  personal  and  twelve 
on  the  social,  or  civic,  vir- 


tues. He  completed  only 
six  books,  but  even  so  the 
poem  is  of  vast  bulk.  It 
is  a  monumental  tribute 
to  the  queen,  the  most 
elaborate  poetic  compli- 
ment ever  paid  to  a  sov- 
ereign. It  is  cast  in  the 
mold  of  the  romance  of 
chivalry,  with  Ariosto's 
''Orlando  Furioso"  as  a 
model.  But,  unlike  Ari- 
osto,  Spenser  has  a  much 
deeper  motive  than  the 
merely  narrative  one.  The 
story  is  hung  with  the  veil 
of  religious,  political,  and 
moral  allegory,  through 
which  the  figures  move  as 

in  a  dream.  The  six  books  which  Spenser  completed  glorify  the 
six  virtues  of  holiness,  temperance,  chastity,  friendship,  justice, 
and  courtesy.  Spenser  deliberately  adopted  an  archaic  spelling 
and  vocabulary  (mostly  inaccurate,  by  the  way)  to  lend  an  at- 
mosphere of  remoteness  to  the  figures  and  incidents  of  his  poem. 
The  form  is  a  modification  of  Ariosto's,  known  as  the  Spenserian 
stanza,  and  was  frequently  employed  by  later  poets.  It  is  admi- 
rably suited  to  the  theme  and  tone  of  the  poem.  We  quote  a  pas- 
sage from  the  first  book,  to  illustrate  Spenser's  versification  and 
poetic  style. 


EDMUND   SPEXSER 


370  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"And  more,  to  lulle  him  in  his  slumber  soft, 
A  trickhng  streame  from  high  rock  tumbling  downe, 
And  ever-drizzling  raine  upon  the  loft, 
Mixt  with  a  murmering  winde,  much  like  the  sowne 
Of  swarming  bees,  did  cast  him  in  a  swowne : 
No  other  noyse,  nor  peoples  troublous  cryes, 
As  still  are  wont  t'annoy  the  walled  towne. 
Might  there  be  heard ;  but  carelesse  Quiet  lyes, 
Wrapt  in  eternall  silence  farre  from  enemyes." 

Spenser's  poetry,  and  indeed  most  nondramatic  poetr}^  of  the 
period,  is  characterized  by  an  intensity  of  emotion, — even  when, 
as  frequently,  it  is  a  wholly  imaginary  emotion, — by  an  abound- 
ing vitality,  and  by  a  vividness  and  often  gorgeousness  of  color 
and  harmony  of  sound.  It  is  with  few  exceptions  lacking  in  the 
virtues  of  simplicity  and  directness,  the  narrative  poems,  includ- 
ing "The  Faerie  Queene"  itself,  being  overelaborated,  involved, 
rambling,  and  more  or  less  confused.  It  is  surcharged  with  fan- 
tastic metaphor  and  poetic  ''conceits"  of  style,  far  removed  from 
the  naturalness  of  real  speech.  But  these  defects  serve  only  to 
accentuate  its  rare  poetic  qualities. 

Minor  prose  writers.  Some  of  the  noteworthy  prose  works  of 
the  time  were  Roger  Ascham's  educational  treatise  "The  School- 
master," Raleigh's  "History  of  the  World,"  Holinshed's  "Chron- 
icles" (the  source  of  a  number  of  Shakespeare's  plays),  and 
Hooker's  "Ecclesiastical  Polity,"  a  fine  piece  of  grave  and  stately 
writing.  Lyly's  "Euphues"  set  the  fashion  of  a  style  known  as 
euphuism — elaborate,  ornate,  fantastic,  artificially  balanced,  and 
full  of  strange  and  complicated  metaphors.  Lodge's  "Rosalynde" 
is  a  pastoral  romance  in  this  style,  the  source  of  Shakespeare's 
"As  You  Like  It."  Under  the  spell  of  euphuism  also  is  Sidney's 
"Arcadia,"  a  long-winded  and  much-meandering  pastoral  romance, 
with  charming  half-poetical  passages  scattered  through  it,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  actual  lyrics,  into  which,  like  the  other  romances 
of  the  day,  it  frequently  breaks. 

Bacon.  The  most  important  prose  writer  of  the  Elizabethan  age 
was  Francis  Bacon  (i 561-1626).    He  was  a  courtier  and  place- 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  371 

hunter,  skilled  in  the  devious  ways  of  political  intrigue,  a  man  of 
finely  intellectual  temper  but  of  unscrupulous  conduct,  rising  to 
the  high  office  of  Lord  Chancellor  under  James  I  only  to  pass  to 
imprisonment  and  disgrace  as  a  bribe-taker  and  to  end  his  days 
in  retirement  clouded  by  his  broken  reputation.  In  his  "Novum 
Organum"  (written  in  Latin)  and  his  "Advancement  of  Learn- 
ing" Bacon  makes  his  great  contribution  to  modern  scientific 
method — a  careful  exposition  of  the  inductive  type  of  reasoning, 
an  almost  revolutionary  departure  from  the  Aristotelian  deduc- 
tive logic,  upon  which  the  entire  structure  of  medieval  scholasticism 
had  been  reared. 

For  the  student  of  literature,  however,  it  is  the  "Essays"  that 
constitute  Bacon's  importance.  They  are  upon  a  wide  range  of  topics 
— the  conduct  of  life,  statecraft,  intellectual  culture,  landscape 
gardening,  and  many  others.  Through  them  all  runs  the  worldly 
wisdom  of  the  writer — his  keen  analysis  of  human  nature  and 
his  counsels  of  practical  advantage  and  prudence.  Only  rarely 
does  Bacon  rise  to  the  clear  height  of  a  noble  or  disinterested 
ideal.  And  there  are  frequent  side  lights  upon  his  own  checkered 
and  badly  streaked  career.  His  style  is  incisive,  clear,  extremely 
compact,  and  epigrammatic — a  pronounced  departure  from  the 
fantastic  wordiness  of  euphuism. 

Drama  before  Shakespeare.  The  crowning  glory  of  the  Eliz- 
abethan period,  and  indeed  of  the  whole  course  of  English  litera- 
ture, is  the  dramatic  production  of  the  time.  So  far  as  the  previous 
development  of  English  drama  is  concerned,  its  course  followed 
that  of  France  so  closely  that  the  story  need  not  be  repeated 
here.  It  took  its  rise  in  short  impersonations  introduced  at  Christ- 
mas and  Easter  into  the  church  liturgy.  It  passed  on  through  the 
various  mystery  and  miracle  cycles  in  the  hands  of  the  trade  gilds, 
through  the  abstract  moralities  like  "Everyman,"  and  through  the 
short  interludes,  mostly  secular  and  sometimes  even  farcical, 
chiefly  by  John  Heywood.  And  it  emerged  at  last  into  the  regular 
if  somewhat  rough  and  stilted  form  of  Udall's  "Ralph  Roister 
Doister"  in  comedy,  Sackville  and  Norton's  "Gorboduc"  in  trag- 
edy, and  the  work  of  the  immediate  predecessors  of  Shakespeare. 


372  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Among  these  predecessors  the  name  of  Christopher  Marlowe 
( 1 564-1 593)  stands  out  most  prominently.  His  four  great  plays, 
"Tamburlaine,"  "The  Jewof  Malta,"  "Faustus,"  and  "Edward  II," 
are  remarkable  for  an  intensity  of  emotional  power  and  for  a  new 
and  almost  unparalleled  excellence  in  the  handling  of  blank  verse. 
Less  significant  are  the  rather  crude  tragedies  of  Thomas  Kyd  and 
the  plays  upon  classical  and  Biblical  themes  by  George  Peele. 
Much  of  the  work  of  these  writers  is  marred  by  an  awkwardness  of 
structure  and  a  highly  wrought  and  often  extravagant  diction. 

William  Shakespeare  was  supremely  fitted,  by  birth  and  train- 
ing, by  his  contact  with  the  movement  and  spirit  of  his  time,  by 
his  fellowship  with  friends  and  associates,  and  above  all  by  his 
lofty  poetic  imagination,  to  give  to  English  drama  its  highest  and 
noblest  expression.  He  was  born  at  Stratford-on-Avon,  in  War- 
wickshire, in  1564,  the  date  commonly  accepted  being  April  23. 
His  parents  were  of  good  stock,  Saxon  on  his  father's  side  and  Cel- 
tic on  his  mother's — a  heritage  that  formed  a  happy  combination 
in  their  gifted  son.  The  slow  and  quiet  round  of  life  in  the  little 
town,  and  its  natural  environment  of  river,  meadow,  and  wood, 
were  favoring  influences.  It  is  probable  that  Shakespeare  attended 
the  excellent  grammar  school  of  the  town  and  that  he  had  to  leave 
because  of  family  reverses.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  married  Ann 
Hathaway.  There  is  little  foundation  for  the  conjecture  that  his 
married  life  was  unhappy.  Two  years  later  he  made  his  way  to 
London,  gravitating  as  if  by  instinct  to  the  playhouses.  He  ad- 
vanced rapidly  through  the  stages  of  adapter  and  reviser  of  plays 
and  actor  in  minor  roles  to  those  of  recognized  playwright,  mem- 
ber of  the  principal  dramatic  company  of  the  time,  and  share- 
holder in  the  Globe  and  Blackfriars  theaters.  He  wrote  between 
1590  and  1 610  an  average  of  two  plays  a  year.  From  these 
various  sources  he  received  ^  considerable  income,  purchased  the 
best  dwelling  in  Stratford,  and  about  161 1  retired  from  active  life. 
He  died  on  his  fifty-second  birthday,  April  23,  1616. 

Of  Shakespeare's  sonnets  and  narrative  poems  we  have  already 
spoken.  His  early  work  in  the  drama,  chiefly  comedy,  is  marked 
by  lightness  of  touch,  gayety,  sparkling  repartee,  vitality,  and 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE 


373 


brilliant  if  somewhat  shallow  characterization.  The  principal 
comedies  are  "Love's  Labor's  Lost,"  ''The  Two  Gentlemen  of 
Verona,"  "The  Comedy  of  Errors,"  and  "A  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream."  The  one  historical  play  of  the  period  (omitting  those 
only  in  part  by  Shakespeare)  is  "Richard  III" — a  superb  study 
of  concentrated   villainy, 


in  the  manner  of  IMar- 
lowe.  Among  the  trage- 
dies we  have  the  match- 
less love  story  of  "  Romeo 
and  Juliet." 

The  second  stage  of 
Shakespeare's  v/ork  is  in- 
troduced by  "The  ISIer- 
chant  of  Venice,"  with  its 
fine  character  conceptions 
of  Portia  and  of  Shylock. 
This  period  includes  also 
the  rich  and  mellow  and 
broadly  human  plays 
"Much  Ado  about  Noth- 
ing," "As  You  Like  it," 
and  "Twelfth  Night," 
constituting  the  supreme 
flower  of  English  comedy. 
There  is  nothing  in  our 
literature  to  set  beside  the 

masterly  characterizations  of  Beatrice,  Rosalind,  and  Viola — por- 
traits in  the  great  gallery  of  Shakespeare's  feminine  characters.  The 
historical  plays  of  this  period  are  "King  John";  "Richard  II,"  one 
of  the  most  deeply  pathetic  of  all  historical  studies;  "Henry  IV," 
containing  one  of  the  world's  master  creations  in  comedy,  the  in- 
comparable old  rogue  Falstaff ;  and  "Henry  V,"  perhaps  the  great- 
est treatment  in  our  literature  of  a  popular  national  hero.  Among 
the  tragedies  are  "Julius  Caesar"  and  "Hamlet."  The  first  is  al- 
niost  faultless  in  dramatic  structure,  in  interdependence  of  episode, 


WILLIAM    SHAKESPEARE 


374  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

and  in  the  working  out  of  an  essentially  tragic  conflict  in  the  char- 
acter of  Brutus.  As  for  "Hamlet,"  no  man  has  yet  "plucked  out 
the  heart  of  his  mystery."  The  tragic  greatness  of  the  central 
character,  struggling  under  "the  burden  and  the  weight  of  all 
this  unintelligible  world,"  the  luminous  insight  into  human  motives 
and  passions,  and  the  terrible  sweep  of  forces  ruthlessly  crushing 
the  innocent  with  the  guilty — the  fragile  flower  Ophelia  with 
the  base  and  wicked  king — give  it  a  place  among  the  world's 
greatest  dramas. 

"Hamlet"  forms  a  fitting  introduction  to  the  third  stage  of 
Shakespeare's  work,  often  referred  to  as  the  great  tragic  period. 
"Othello"  reveals  to  us  the  wreck  of  a  deeply  tender  and  greatly 
simple  human  soul, — "one  who  loved  not  wisely  but  too  well," — 
and  in  lago  portrays  a  type  of  subtle,  insidious,  and  unalloyed 
villainy  not  equaled  in  literature.  In  "Macbeth"  an  essentially 
noble  nature  founders  upon  the  rock  of  ambition,  closed  in  the 
grip  of  a  relentless  fate,  striking  blindly  and  desperately  at  the 
forces  of  retribution  besetting  him  at  the  end.  "King  Lear"  pre- 
sents the  utter  desolation  of  an  aged  father, — "a  very  foolish, 
fond  old  man,  fourscore  and  upward," — which  for  tragic  inten- 
sity of  suffering  is  unapproached  in  the  literature  of  the  world. 
"Antony  and  Cleopatra"  is  a  parallel,  in  terms  of  mature  life,  of 
the  youthful  passion  of  "Romeo  and  Juliet,"  but  taking  the  deeper 
moral  tone  of  a  struggle  between  the  higher  nature  of  Antony  and 
his  infatuation  for  the  Egyptian  queen,  the  "serpent  of  old  Nile," 
— the  most  complex  of  Shakespeare's  feminine  creations,  "infinite 
in  her  variety."  "Coriolanus"  is  the  exponent  of  the  patrician 
pride  of  Rome  in  its  flawed  greatness,  a  bitter  opponent  of  the 
"many-headed  multitude,"  going  down  before  the  mingled  good 
and  evil  of  the  plebeian  class.  Even  the  comedies  of  this  period — ■ 
"All's  Well  that  Ends  Well,"  "Troilus  and  Cressida,"  and  "Meas- 
ure for  Measure" — are  deeply  colored  by  an  irony  of  circumstance 
that  is  almost  tragic  in  its  tone. 

The  plays  of  Shakespeare's  closing  period  are  of  another  sort. 
They  reveal  the  temper  of  a  man  who  has  passed  from  storm  into 
the  deep  and  quiet  waters  of  safe  harborage.    They  present  his 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  375 

profoundest  thought  upon  human  Hfe  with  its  perpetual  struggle 
between  good  and  evil  forces ;  but  there  is  an  assured  insistence 
upon  the  faith  that  good  will  overcome  evil,  and  man  be  recon- 
ciled to  life.  The  three  great  plays  of  this  period  are  "Cymbe- 
line,"  with  the  lovable  figure  of  Imogen  dominating  its  course; 
"The  Winter's  Tale,"  with  its  splendid  embodiment  in  Hermione  of 
utter  forgiveness  for  a  great  and  terrible  wrong;  and  "The  Tem- 
pest," Shakespeare's  final  judgment  upon  life,  presenting  man  as 
master  of  his  fate  and  exercising  a  beneficent  control  over  all  the 
forces  of  his  environment,  although  realizing  at  the  same  time  that 

"We  are  such  stuff 
As  dreams  are  made  on ;  and  our  little  life 
Is  rounded  with  a  sleep." 

The  plays  of  Shakespeare  differ  from  the  classical  drama  of 
antiquity  on  the  one  hand  and  from  the  modern  so-called  problem 
play  on  the  other.  They  break  with  the  classical  tradition  in  being 
fundamentally  romantic.  Their  romantic  quality  appears  in  two 
significant  aspects.  The  first  is  the  abundant  and  varied  repre- 
sentation of  action  on  the  stage ;  especially,  in  the  tragedies,  scenes 
of  battle  and  bloodshed — scenes  which  in  the  Greek  drama  were 
practically  always  presented  through  the  more  restrained  device  of 
the  narrator  or  messenger.  The  second  and  perhaps  more  impor- 
tant romantic  element  is  that  of  mingled  light  and  serious  tone.  The 
Greek  tragedy  was  tragic,  and  the  Greek  comedy  comic,  through- 
out ;  but  the  great  Elizabethan  plays  were  broadly  inclusive  of  all 
the  content  of  life.  There  are  tears  in  many  of  the  comedies,  and 
there  is  laughter  in  many  of  the  tragedies.  Unity  of  tone,  together 
with  most  of  the  other  classical  unities,  is  thus  sacrificed  to  a 
more  generous  and  normal  presentment  of  life.  As  for  the  distinc- 
tion between  Shakespearean  and  modern  drama,  it  lies  mainly  in 
the  fact  that  with  Shakespeare  the  forces  at  work  are  personal 
forces,  that  individual  suffering  is  due  to  individual  weakness  or 
wrong,  and  that  society  in  its  generic  sense  is  hardly  recognized  at 
all.  In  the  modern  play,  on  the  other  hand,  the  conflict  is  usually 
between  the  individual  and  society  in  one  or  more  of  its  phases. 


376  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

It  must  not  be  assumed  that  Shakespeare's  work  is  perfect.  He 
is  capable,  especially  in  his  earlier  plays,  of  an  affected  diction  and 
artificial  figures  of  speech,  occasional  passages  of  bombast,  incon- 
gruities of  tone,  and  frequent  disregard  of  dramatic  economy. 
These  faults,  however,  he  almost  wholly  outgrew  in  his  later  plays. 
It  must  be  admitted  also  that  he  has  apparently  little  sense  of  the 
heroic  in  the  common  man  or  of  dramatic  possibilities  in  his 
experience.  To  offset  this,  we  must  remember  that  Shakespeare's 
kings  and  other  great  personages  are  thoroughly  humanized  and 
subject  to  the  same  hopes  and  fears  as  our  common  humanity. 

"Uneasy  lies  the  head  that  wears  a  crown," 

says  the  troubled  King  Henry. 

"No  more  but  e'en  a  woman,  and  commanded 
By  such  poor  passion  as  the  maid  that  milks," 

says  Cleopatra.  It  is  true  also  that  Shakespeare  has  little  sense  of 
the  tragedy  involved  in  the  entanglement  of  man  with  the  social 
forces  and  conventions  of  his  time.  But  to  say  this  is  only  to  say 
that  Shakespeare  revealed  his  own  period  and  not  ours.  Not  even 
the  genius  of  Shakespeare  could  divine  the  totally  changed  meaning 
which  the  word  "society"  was  to  assume  three  centuries  later. 

Whatever  may  have  been  his  shortcomings,  he  remains  the  mas- 
ter spirit  of  English  literature.  It  was  no  exaggeration  for  his 
friend  Ben  Jonson  to  say  of  him,  "He  was  not  of  an  age  but  for 
all  time."  It  is  above  all  else  this  universality  of  Shakespeare's 
genius — its  familiarity  with  the  whole  expanse  of  human  nature, 
with  all  types  in  all  situations — that  constitutes  the  source  of  his 
greatness.  "What  a  piece  of  work  is  man!"  we  hear  him  say 
through  the  mouth  of  Hamlet,  who  may  perhaps  be  regarded  as 
on  the  whole,  among  all  of  Shakespeare's  characters,  most  fully 
representative  of  the  poet  himself.  And  it  is  to  man  that  Shake- 
speare comes  with  the  illuminating  vision  of  one  who  sees  clearly 
his  heights  and  depths,  his  glory  and  his  shame.  "The  purpose  of 
playing,"  says  Hamlet  again,  "is  to  hold,  as  'twere,  the  mirror  up  to 


THE 

Tragical  I  Hiftorie  of 

HAMLET, 

Trince  of  Denmark^, 

By  William  Shakefpeare. 

Newly  imprinted  and  enlarged  to  almofl:  as  much 
againeasitwas,accordingto  thetme  and  perfedi 
Coppic. 


AT    LONDON. 

Printed  by  I.  R.  for  N.  L.  and  arc  to  te  ibid  at  his 

{hoppe  vndcrSainiDunftons  Church  in 
ricetHreei.   1604. 

TITLE-PAGE,    SECOND   QUARTO 


378  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

nature ;  to  show  virtue  her  own  feature,  scorn  her  own  image,  and 
the  very  age  and  body  of  the  time  his  form  and  pressure."  And 
we  may  well  believe  this  to  have  been  in  Shakespeare's  mind  the 
purpose  of  the  playwright  also.  For  we  shall  have  far  to  seek  for 
any  such  consistent  and  adequate  and  fundamental  grasp  of  the 
realities  of  our  common  human  experience  as  we  find  in  Shake- 
speare's pages.  And  together  with  his  insight  goes  his  unparalleled 
power  of  execution — of  putting  into  the  form  of  speech  and  action 
and  dramatic  expression  the  truths  of  human  life  which  his  eye 
beheld.  In  his  mature  work  this  ability  to  give  outward  form  to 
an  inner  idea  is  exercised  with  a  sureness  and  appropriateness  and 
economy  of  effect  that  is  little  short  of  miraculous.  Dogberry, 
Shallow,  sweet  Ann  Page,  the  young  prince  Mamillius,  Cassio, 
Capulet,  Enobarbus,  Mariana,  Sir  Toby, — even  these  minor 
characters  (and  the  list  might  be  many  times  extended)  bear  the 
impress  of  a  creative  artist's  hand  in  their  individual  completeness 
and  sufficiency.  It  is  fundamentally  this  vision  of  the  seer,  joined 
as  it  is  in  Shakespeare  with  the  hand  of  the  master  artist,  that  has 
made  him  the  supreme  dramatic  poet  of  the  modern  world. 

Shakespeare's  contemporaries  in  the  field  of  drama  were  suf- 
ficiently numerous  and  significant  to  make  the  age  a  great  one  even 
if  he  himself  were  left  out  of  account.  But  he  towers  so  high  above 
them  that  the  best  we  can  say  is  that  they  rise  occasionally  to  the 
levels  upon  which  he  almost  habitually  moves.  His  intimate  friend 
Ben  Jonson  cultivated  the  so-called  "comedy  of  humors,"  in  which 
a  typical  temperament  is  exploited  in  a  dramatic  way,  as  in  his 
"Every  Man  in  his  Humor."  Jonson's  tragedies  are  mostly  on  clas- 
sical subjects — "Sejanus"  and  "Catiline"  are  typical — and  are 
rather  heavy  and  laborious.  His  satirical  comedies — "Volpone," 
"Bartholomew  Fair,"  and,  greatest  of  all,  "The  Alchemist" — are 
keen  and  incisive,  sometimes  almost  savage,  attacks  upon  the  fail- 
ings, errors,  and  foibles  of  his  time.  He  produced  one  effective 
pastoral  play,  "The  Sad  Shepherd,"  and  a  number  of  elaborate 
masques.  Deserving  of  mention  also  are  the  poetic  if  not  very 
dramatic  plays  of  George  Chapman ;  the  remarkable  series  of  plays 
produced  in  collaboration  by  Beaumont  and  Fletcher;   Thomas 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  379 

Dekker's  plays  upon  themes  drawn  from  humble  life,  especially 
"The  Shoemaker's  Holiday";  and  Thomas  Heyvvood's  effective 
dramas  of  domestic  life. 

Shakespeare's  successors.  Of  Shakespeare's  immediate  succes- 
sors in  the  drama  the  most  notable  were  John  Webster,  a  writer  of 
intense  poetic  power  but  of  violent  and  overwrought  incident,  as 
shown  in  ''The  White  Devil"  and  "The  Duchess  of  Malfi"; 
Thomas  Middleton,  whose  plays,  though  rather  loosely  constructed, 
contain  many  finely  poetic  passages;  John  Ford,  who  inclined 
chiefly  to  pathos  and  melancholy,  as  in  "The  Broken  Heart"; 
Philip  Massinger,  whose  "New  Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts"  is  one  of 
the  best  comedies  of  his  time ;  and  James  Shirley,  who  in  his  bril- 
liant prose  plays,  such  as  "Hyde  Park"  and  "The  Lady  of  Pleas- 
ure," shows  himself  a  precursor  of  the  Restoration  comedy.  In  1642, 
under  the  pressure  of  the  Puritan  regime,  the  theaters  were  closed, 
and  so  remained  for  eighteen  years. 

The  Puritan  Reaction 

The  Reformation.  The  gradual  passing  of  the  Renaissance  spirit 
was  accompanied  by  a  deepening  and  intensifying  of  that  of  the 
Reformation.  Puritanism  was  an  extension  of  the  movement  which, 
having  broken  with  Rome  and  established  the  Church  of  England, 
advanced  to  a  searching  criticism  of  the  abuses  involved  in  the  new 
establishment.  The  literature  of  the  period  between  the  late  Eliza- 
bethans and  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts  (1660)  is  deeply  colored 
by  the  seriousness  of  this  great  religious  movement.  It  was  a  time 
of  soul  scrutiny  and  of  decision  upon  the  most  momentous  of  all 
human  issues — the  relation  of  man  to  God.  The  joy  of  life,  which 
was  the  distinguishing  mark  of  the  Elizabethan  literature,  gave 
place,  therefore,  to  a  deepening  seriousness  in  that  of  the  first  half 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  religious  issue  went  hand  in  hand 
with  a  political  one — that  of  the  contest  between  king  and  Parlia- 
ment. The  Civil  War  (i 642-1 649)  and  the  stern  theocratic  dicta- 
torship of  Cromwell  put  an  end  for  all  time  to  the  theory  of  the 
divine  right  of  kings. 


38o  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

One  of  the  earliest  fruits  of  the  new  religious  movement  was  the 
translation  of  the  Bible  known  as  the  Authorized  or  King  James 
Version.  The  reader  is  referred  to  the  section  on  the  literature 
of  the  Bible  (Chapter  III)  for  the  discussion  of  this  noble 
achievement. 

Minor  poets.  The  poetry  of  the  Puritan  period  was  largely  under 
the  influence  of  the  Elizabethan  form  and  style  and  is  especially 
indebted  to  Spenser  for  much  that  is  best  in  it.  The  faults  of  Spen- 
ser and  his  followers,  however,  ane  quite  as  much  in  evidence,  par- 
ticularly the  overworking  of  metaphor  and  poetic  conceit.  The 
poems  of  the  preacher-mystic  John  Donne  are  illuminated  by 
strange  flashes  of  light  and  fervor.  George  Herbert's  devotional 
lyrics  reveal  a  depth  of  religious  feeling.  The  poetic  phrasing 
of  Giles  Fletcher  exerted  a  considerable  influence  on  INIilton. 
Richard  Crashaw  is  the  poetic  spokesman  of  the  Catholic  faith, 
Henry  V^aughan's  lyrics  express  a  keen  interest  in  nature  and  in  the 
world  beyond.  Of  the  pastoral  poets  Robert  Herrick  is  the  most 
notable.  He  produced  many  a  delightfully  poetic  picture  of  rural 
custom  and  incident,  distinguished  by  a  refreshing  lightness,  grace, 
and  sincerity.  The  so-called  Cavalier  poets — particularly  Carew, 
Lovelace,  and  Suckling — in  their  love  poetry  and  their  songs  of 
loyalty  to  the  king's  cause  have  a  fine  ring  of  sincerity,  but  are 
often  rather  shallow  and  sometimes  licentious. 

John  Milton.  All  the  poets  we  have  mentioned  are,  however, 
stars  of  only  the  third  or  fourth  magnitude  when  compared  with 
Milton,  who  takes  rank  next  after  Shakespeare  as  the  greatest 
English  poet.  He  was  born  in  London,  in  1608;  his  father  was  a 
notary — a  broad-minded  Puritan,  in  whose  home  books  and  music 
and  good  company  and  cultured  conversation  were  much  in  evi- 
dence. ISIilton  spent  two  years  at  Cambridge  University  and  there 
formed  the  high  resolve  to  adopt  poetry  as  a  career  and  to  write 
something  "which  the  world  would  not  willingly  let  die."  He  took 
the  utmost  pains  to  qualify  himself  for  this  great  mission,  by  assid- 
uous study  and  by  the  cultivation  of  a  sound,  strong,  gracious  na- 
ture, without  which  he  did  not  believe  the  writing  of  great  poetry 
to  be  possible.    The  five  years  following  his  university  work  were 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE 


381 


spent  in  quiet  but  unremitting  study  of  the  classics.  He  had  the 
advantage  of  a  journey  to  Italy  in  1638,  and  all  that  such  an  ex- 
perience implies  to  a  poetic  nature.  For  the  next  twenty  years  he 
was  absorbed  heart  and  soul  in  the  great  political  and  religious 
struggle,  acting  as  Latin  secretary  to  Cromwell,  writing  pamphlets 
in  defense  of  the  cause  of 


Parliament,  and  becoming 
blind  in  the  course  of  that 
activity.  With  the  Resto- 
ration he  was  compelled  to 
go  into  hiding  for  a  time, 
to  escape  death  at  the 
hands  of  the  new  regime. 
His  closing  years  were 
passed  in  seclusion  and 
in  the  composition  of  his 
great  epic  "Paradise  Lost " 
and  other  late  poems.  He 
died  in  1674. 

Milton's  literary  activ- 
ity falls  naturally  into  the 
three  distinct  periods  of 
his  life — youth  and  prep- 
aration, public  career,  and 
retirement.  The  "studious 

cloister's  pale"  at  Cambridge  and  the  happy  leisure  of  the  years 
that  followed  are  marked  by  the  production  of  "L'AUegro,"  "II 
Penseroso,"  "Comus,"  "Lycidas,"  and  a  few  lesser  poems.  They 
are  all  in  the  popular  pastoral  form,  but  are  quite  free  from  the 
artificial  conceits  and  unreal  sentiment  of  that  form  as  practiced 
by  most  other  poets.  Indeed,  even  in  these  early  poems  Mil- 
ton achieved  an  almost  faultless  style — concrete,  restrained,  and 
yet  adequate,  sufficiently  varied  to  suit  the  several  themes  dealt 
with,  and  of  a  remarkable  musical  quality.  "L'AUegro"  and  "II 
Penseroso"  are  descriptive  poems  portraying  the  gayer  and 
graver  aspects  of  the  poet's  youthful   experience.     They   have 


JOHN  MILTON 


382  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

the  freshness,  spontaneity,  and  measured  joy  of  a  deeply  poetic  and 
sensitive  nature  awake  to  the  delights  of  rural  landscape  and  life 
on  the  one  hand  and  of  midnight  hours  of  study  and  contemplation 
on  the  other.  Nowhere  in  our  literature  have  these  satisfactions  of 
the  eye  and  of  the  mind  found  so  happy  an  expression.  "Comus" 
is  cast  in  the  form  of  a  masque  and  is  perhaps  the  most  nearly  per- 
fect example  of  this  form  in  English  literature.  In  this  poem  Mil- 
ton presents  a  more  deeply  serious  theme,  revealing  beneath  the 
surface  narrative  of  pastoral  adventure  an  indictment  of  the  vicious- 
ness  of  the  English  court  and  of  the  shallow  and  empty  pursuits  of 
human  life  in  general.  The  truly  virtuous  and  constant  soul  is  rare 
indeed,  but  when  it  does  appear  among  us  it  is  invulnerable  to  all 
hostile  circumstance  and  temptation.  In  ''Lycidas"  Milton's  tone 
becomes  increasingly  serious  and  even  stern.  He  mourns  the  death 
of  his  young  college  friend  Edward  King,  a  poet  of  some  promise 
and  an  aspirant  for  holy  orders.  "Lycidas"  is  the  noblest  of  all 
elegiac  poems  in  English.  There  is  about  it  a  dignity  and  eleva- 
tion, a  superb  richness  of  color,  sound,  and  movement,  that  put  it 
almost  in  a  class  by  itself.  Milton's  burning  indignation  against 
the  worldly  and  place-hunting  clergy  of  his  time  is  nobly  expressed 
and  is  prophetic  of  the  great  national  struggle  that  was  so  close 
at  hand. 

During  the  period  of  the  Civil  War  and  of  the  Protectorate  Mil- 
ton was  busy  with  his  official  duties  and  for  twenty  years  found 
little  time  for  poetry,  except  for  an  occasional  sonnet — usually  on 
some  theme  of  public  concern.  In  his  sonnets  Milton  adopted  the 
Italian  form,  which  is  marked  by  a  more  involved  rime  than  the 
Elizabethan,  and  which  has  been  the  prevailing  style  since  his  time. 
Milton's  great  service  to  the  cause  of  religious  and  political  reform 
in  these  years  is  attested  by  an  abundant  mass  of  prose  of  a  very 
high  order  on  the  great  issues  involved.  ''The  Tenure  of  Kings  and 
Magistrates"  is  a  defense  of  the  Protectorate  in  its  course  against 
the  king.  The  "Tractate  on  Education"  shows  how  far  ahead  of 
his  times  Milton  was  on  that  important  subject.  The  "Areopa- 
gitica"  is  a  bold  and  uncompromising  demand  for  complete  free- 
dom of  speech  and  of  the  press.    "Give  me,"  says  INIilton,  "the 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  383 

liberty  to  know,  to  utter,  and  to  argue  freely,  above  all  other 
liberties."    The  student  of  Milton  should  not  ignore  his  prose. 

The  principal  fruit  of  Milton's  retirement  and  advanced  years 
was  the  great  epic  "Paradise  Lost."  It  takes  rank  with  the  master 
epics  of  world  literature — with  the  work  of  Homer,  Virgil,  and 
Dante.  It  is  in  twelve  books,  comprising  a  total  of  about  ten  thou- 
sand five  hundred  lines.  The  opening  passage  announces  the  lofty 
theme  of  the  poem  and  the  purpose  of  the  poet : 

"That  to  the  height  of  this  great  argument 
I  may  assert  eternal  providence. 
And  justify  the  ways  of  God  to  man." 

On  the  surface  of  the  burning  lake  of  Chaos  lie  Satan  and  his  hosts, 
dazed  by  their  fall  from  the  height  of  heaven.  The  fierce  pride  of 
Satan,  however,  reasserts  itself,  and  he  appeals  to  his  hosts,  who  re- 
spond loyally  and  range  themselves  under  the  banner  of  Azazel, 

"Who  forthwith  from  the  glittering  staff  unfurled 
The  imperial  ensign ;  which  full  high  advanced, 
Shone  like  a  meteor  streaming  to  the  wind, 
With  gems  and  golden  luster  rich  emblazed, 
Seraphic  arms  and  trophies  ;   all  the  while 
Sonorous  metal  blowing  martial  sounds ; 
At  which  the  universal  host  up  sent 
A  shout,  that  tore  Hell's  concave,  and  beyond 
Frighted  the  reign  of  Chaos  and  old  Night." 

They  hearken  to  Satan's  proposal  to  continue  the  warfare  upon 
God  by  an  attempt  at  the  betrayal  of  man,  then  newly  created. 
Book  II  pictures  the  host  assembled  in  the  magic  palace  of  Pan- 
demonium for  counsel. 

"High  on  a  throne  of  royal  state  which  far 
Outshone  the  wealth  of  Ormus  or  of  Ind, 
Or  where  the  gorgeous  East  with  richest  hand 
Showers  on  her  kings  barbaric  pearl  and  gold, 
Satan  exalted  sat." 

The  arch-enemy,  as  a  result  of  the  deliberation,  assumes  the  task 
of  seeking  out  the  newly  created  world  and  betraying  the  race  of 


384  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

man.  Sin  and  Death,  the  warders  of  Hell  gate,  open  the  way  for 
Satan's  dusky  flight  to  earth.  In  Book  III  we  are  transported  to 
the  throne  of  God  with  the  splendid  passage  beginning 

"Hail,  holy  light!  offspring  of  heaven  first-born!" 

There  is  a  touch  of  sublime  pathos  in  the  poet's  realization  of  his 
own  blindness : 

"Thus  with  the  year 
Seasons  return,  but  not  to  me  returns 
Day,  nor  the  sweet  approach  of  even  or  morn, 
Or  sight  of  vernal  bloom,  or  summer's  rose, 
Or  flocks,  or  herds,  or  human  face  divine." 

God  the  Father  reveals  to  the  Son  the  sinister  design  of  Satan,  and 
the  Son  freely  offers  himself  as  a  ransom  for  the  guilt  of  man  about 
to  be  consummated.  Book  IV  presents  a  picture  of  the  yet  un- 
troubled state  of  Adam  and  Eve  in  Paradise,  with  the  impending 
evil  in  the  person  of  Satan  hovering  near  and  maturing  his  plans. 
Books  V,  VI,  and  VII  contain  the  warning  and  counsel  of  the  arch- 
angel Raphael  to  Adam,  and  his  account,  at  Adam's  request,  of  the 
war  in  heaven,  the  casting-out  of  Satan  and  his  host,  and  the  crea- 
tion of  the  new  world  and  a  new  order  of  creatures  to  dwell  in  it. 
In  Book  VIII  Adam  replies  with  a  statement  of  his  own  experience 
in  Paradise.  Book  IX  reaches  the  epic  climax  in  the  yielding  of 
Eve  to  the  temptation  of  Satan,  in  the  guise  of  the  serpent,  to  taste 
the  forbidden  fruit,  and  the  participation  of  Adam  in  her  guilt. 

"Earth  felt  the  wound.,  and  nature  from  her  seat, 
Sighing  through  all  her  works,  gave  signs  of  woe 
That  all  was  lost." 

Book  X  relates  the  judgment  of  God,  in  the  person  of  the  Son,  upon 
the  new  race  for  its  transgression ;  the  coming  of  Sin  and  Death  to 
make  their  abode  in  the  earth  ;  and  the  heavy  remorse  of  Adam  and 
Eve,  lightened  only  by  the  ray  of  hope  contained  in  God's  promise 
that  the  seed  of  the  woman  should  sometime  crush  the  serpent. 
Books  XI  and  XII  present  the  coming  of  the  archangel  INIichael  at 
God's  command ;  his  revelation  to  Adam  of  the  future  history  of 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  385 

mankind,  culminating  in  the  announcement  of  the  redemptive  work 
of  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  his  leading  Adam  and  Eve  out  of  the  gates 
of  Paradise. 

"They  hand  in  hand,  with  wandering  steps  and  slow, 
Through  Eden  took  their  soHtary  way." 

*' Paradise  Lost"  is  in  blank-verse  form.  The  characteristics  of 
Miltonic  blank  verse  are  long,  sustained  sentences  and  extreme 
variation  in  the  placing  of  pauses — qualities  which  make  it  a  su- 
premely effective  vehicle  for  his  thought.  ''Paradise  Lost"  is  our 
greatest  example  of  poetry  in  what  is  known  as  the  grand  style. 
The  lofty  dignity  and  severity  of  its  lines,  the  rolling,  organlike 
music  of  its  prolonged  periods,  the  gorgeousness  of  its  color,  the 
sharp  concreteness  of  its  imagery,  the  impressive  portrayal  of  the 
great  archrebel  Satan,  and  the  vast  sweep  of  its  cosmic  movement 
combine  to  lend  it  an  awesome  power  in  keeping  with  the  greatness 
of  its  theme.  ISIilton's  theological  background  is  of  a  relentless 
and  forbidding  sort,  but  the  appeal  of  the  poem,  like  that  of  the 
"Divine  Comedy,"  is  largely  independent  of  its  doctrinal  dress  and 
goes  deep  into  the  bases  of  universal  human  experience  with  the 
problems  of  good  and  evil. 

The  two  other  poems  of  Milton's  retirement  are  ''Paradise  Re- 
gained" and  "Samson  Agonistes."  The  former,  while  marked  in 
places  by  the  poetic  power  of  the  great  epic,  is,  on  the  whole,  of 
less  merit.  "Samson  Agonistes"  is  probably  the  best  example  in 
English  of  a  drama  in  the  Greek  form.  The  weight  and  solemnity 
of  the  dialogue  passages  and  the  lyric  height  and  range  of  the  in- 
terpretative choruses  give  it  an  impressiveness  closely  akin  to  that 
of  the  Greek  tragedies.  There  is  also  a  personal  element  in  the 
poem.  Samson  is  the  blind  and  disappointed  and  sorely  harassed 
Milton.  The  drama  is  a  fitting  farewell  to  this  world  of  one  of  its 
noblest  souls. 

Among  the  prose  writers  of  the  age  of  Milton  Sir  Thomas 
Browne  (i  605-1 682)  occupies  a  commanding  place.  In  his  "Re- 
ligio  Medici"  and  "Urn  Burial"  he  gives  expression  to  a  series 
of  speculations  and  reflections  upon  the  permanent  realities  of 


386  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

life  in  a  style  which  for  compression,  eloquent  Latinity,  and  high- 
sounding  rhythm  and  melody  has  seldom  been  equaled.  The 
lovable  Izaak  Walton,  linen  draper  by  occupation  and  rambling 
fisherman  by  the  gift  of  the  gods,  wrote  in  his  "Complete  Angler," 
as  no  other  has  ever  written,  of  the  quiet  delights  of  what  he  called 
"the  contemplative  man's  recreation." 

Bunyan.  It  remains  to  speak  of  John  Bunyan  (1628-1688),  the 
humble  Bedfordshire  tinker,  whose  "Pilgrim's  Progress"  is  the  most 
famous  prose  allegory  in  our  literature  and  one  of  the  most  widely 
read  books  of  all  time.  It  conceives  of  the  life  of  man  as  "a  pil- 
grimage from  this  world  to  that  which  is  to  come" — from  the  City 
of  Destruction  to  the  Celestial  City.  In  its  vivid  incidents  of  the 
Slough  of  Despond,  the  Interpreter's  house,  Vanity  Fair,  the  Val- 
ley of  the  Shadow  of  Death,  the  combat  with  Apollyon,  the  mar- 
tyrdom of  Faithful,  the  castle  of  Giant  Despair,  the  Delectable 
Mountains,  and  a  score  of  others,  it  presents  the  Christian  experi- 
ence in  its  lights  and  shadows  so  plainly  that  he  who  runs  may  read. 
And  in  his  penetrating  characterizations,  of  IMr.  Worldly  Wise- 
man, Ignorance,  Piety,  Mr.  Greatheart,  and  others,  Bunyan  gives 
us  a  graphic  picture  of  a  large  section  of  the  society  of  his  times. 
His  style  is  happily  simple  and  direct,  homely,  plain-spoken, 
couched  almost  wholly  in  common  Saxon  terms,  and  elevated  to  a 
dignified  level  by  a  constant  use  of  Biblical  language.  It  is  the 
book  of  the  lowly,  and  as  such  has  had  an  influence  second  only 
to  that  of  the  Bible  itself  as  a  consolation  to  troubled  souls.  The 
severity  of  its  Puritan  theology  is  only  an  accident  of  the  times 
and  is  easily  disregarded  by  the  modern  reader. 

The  Classical  Movement 

The  Restoration.  With  the  death  of  Cromwell  and  the  collapse 
of  the  Protectorate  Charles  II  was  recalled  from  France  (1660), 
and  the  historical  period  known  as  the  Restoration  was  inaugurated. 
The  Puritan  heritage  was  not  lost,  but  the  harsh  and  forbidding 
aspects  of  its  later  almost  fanatical  severity  made  the  reaction  which 
accompanied  the  Restoration  not  unintelligible.   Interest  in  the 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  387 

pleasures  of  this  world  reasserted  itself  with  an  intensity  propor- 
tioned to  the  long  period  of  repression.  The  court  of  Charles  II 
was  the  most  corrupt  and  licentious  that  English  history  has  ever 
known.  Literature,  taking  its  cue  from  the  royal  patronage  and 
the  aristocratic  fashions  of  the  time,  reflects  the  shallowness, 
cynicism,  and  immorality  of  its  sources.  The  absence  of  any  high 
moral  ideal  or  any  real  poetic  imagination  makes  the  literature  of 
this  period  decidedly  secondary  in  value,  and  it  need  not,  therefore, 
detain  us  long. 

The  long  residence  of  Charles  and  his  circle  of  friends  in  France 
was  largely  responsible,  upon  their  return,  for  the  introduction  into 
England  of  the  Classical  theory  of  literary  form,  then  at  the  height 
of  its  influence  in  France.  It  was  classical  in  its  extreme  regard 
for  the  form  (the  spirit  was  never  truly  apprehended)  of  the 
Greek  and,  even  more,  of  the  Latin  authors  of  ancient  times.  In 
brief,  its  distinguishing  marks  were  conservatism,  regularity,  con- 
formity, common  sense,  and  a  strong  emphasis  upon  the  intellect 
rather  than  the  emotions.  It  had  the  merit  of  producing  a  clear 
and  well-ordered  style  and  acting  as  a  necessary  corrective  to  the 
extravagance  and  overelaboration  so  largely  typical  of  the  preced- 
ing age.  But  the  literature  of  the  Classical  period  was,  even  in  its 
poetry,  essentially  a  literature  of  prose. 

John  Dryden  (i 631-1700)  was  the  leading  exponent  in  England 
of  the  earlier  stage  of  the  Classical  movement.  He  was  in  his  youth 
almost  a  Puritan,  one  of  his  early  poems  being  a  eulogy  on  the 
death  of  Cromwell.  Two  years  later  we  find  him  an  ardent  Roy- 
alist, welcoming  the  return  of  Charles  in  a  flattering  poem  entitled 
"Astraea  Redux."  He  was  rewarded  by  his  appointment  as  poet 
laureate  and  by  a  number  of  other  official  positions.  His  best-known 
poems,  such  as  ''Absalom  and  Achitophel"  and  ''Mac  Flecknoe," 
are  satires  upon  political  episodes  of  the  day.  His  "Religio  Laici" 
is  a  defense  of  the  Established  Church,  and  "The  Hind  and  the 
Panther"  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  to  which  he  had  become  a  con- 
vert. In  fact,  much  of  Dryden's  work,  and  much  of  his  conduct 
also,  was  trimmed  to  catch  the  wind  of  advantage  from  one  quarter 
or  another.    He  was  a  prolific  writer  of  heroic  plays,  tragedies,  and 


388  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

comedies,  but  his  work  as  a  playwright  is  of  secondary  importance. 
As  a  literary  critic  and  dictator,  from  his  little  throne  in  Will's 
C  offeehouse,  Dryden  exercised  a  very  great  and  generally  whole- 
some influence.  So  far  as  form  is  concerned,  he  fulfilled  the 
Classical  requirements  in  the  use  of  the  heroic  couplet  (five-stress 
lines  riming  in  pairs),  which  he  employed  with  excellent  effect  in 
almost  all  his  poems  and  plays  except  the  comedies.  On  the  acces- 
sion of  William  III,  in  1688,  Dryden  was  thrown  upon  his  own 
resources  and  had  to  resort  to  translations  and  quantity  produc- 
tion to  make  a  living. 

The  Restoration  spirit  is  revealed  most  typically  and  freely  in  its 
comedy,  which  is  consistently  brilliant,  shallow,  cynical,  worldly, 
and  grossly  licentious.  The  work  of  William  Congreve  is,  on  the 
whole,  less  offensive  than  that  of  most  of  his  contemporaries, 
and  his  best  plays,  "Love  for  Love"  and  "The  Way  of  the  World," 
are  among  our  finest  examples  of  the  "comedy  of  manners,"  a  type 
in  which  the  influence  of  IMoliere  is  strongly  in  evidence. 

Among  the  prose  writers  we  must  mention  the  two  famous 
diarists  Samuel  Pepys  and  John  Evelyn.  Their  journals  cover 
about  the  same  period  (1660-1670)  and  constitute  a  mirror  of  the 
times  more  vivid  and  satisfying  than  almost  any  other  writing 
of  this  period.  The  worldly-wise  Pepys,  man  of  affairs  and  of  mul- 
titudinous official  duties,  runs  the  whole  scale  of  comment,  from 
feminine  apparel  to  the  Great  Fire,  with  an  exactness  of  detail 
and  an  unconscious  humor  that  make  his  diary  very  rich  reading. 
Evelyn  is  more  dignified  and  ceremonious,  is  honestly  and  deeply 
grieved  at  the  moral  laxity  of  the  times,  though  himself  a  devoted 
Royalist,  and  in  certain  passages,  such  as  that  on  the  death  of  his 
little  boy,  strikes  a  note  of  appealing  tenderness  and  pathos. 

The  writers  of  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  were  al- 
most to  a  man  committed  unreservedly  to  the  Classical  regime 
inaugurated  by  Dryden,  It  was  definitely  an  age  of  criticism 
rather  than  of  creation,  and  of  adherence  to  accepted  standards 
rather  than  of  the  raising  of  new  ones.  Its  taste  was  better  regu- 
lated than  that  of  the  Restoration  period,  and  its  moral  tone 
decidedly  higher. 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  389 

Swift.  Satire  continued  to  hold  its  place  as  a  favorite  vehicle  of 
expression.  The  most  powerful  and  in  some  respects  the  greatest 
of  the  satirists  of  the  time  was  Jonathan  Swift  (i 667-1 745).  He 
was  born  in  Dublin ;  was  educated  at  Trinity  College ;  entered  the 
Church ;  was  for  a  time  high  in  the  councils  of  the  Tory  party ;  in- 
trigued for  preferment,  but  had  to  content  himself  with  the  dean- 
ship  of  Saint  Patrick's  at  Dublin,  an  office  which  he  thoroughly 
detested ;  and  fell  a  victim  to  insanity  four  years  before  his  death. 
The  bulk  of  his  writing  is  in  the  form  of  controversial  pamphlets  on 
ecclesiastical  and  political  topics.  The  satire  in  these  is  of  the 
bitter  and  sardonic  type.  His  "Modest  Proposal,"  for  example,  is 
a  perfectly  calm  and  cool  suggestion  for  preventing  the  children  of 
the  poor  in  Ireland  from  becoming  a  burden  to  their  parents,  by 
having  them  killed  and  eaten,  such  a  fate  being  infinitely  preferable 
to  the  wretched  lot  which  would  be  theirs  if  they  were  allowed  to 
grow  to  maturity.  Somewhat  more  pretentious  is  his  "Travels  of 
Lemuel  Gulliver,"  in  which  he  satirizes  the  petty  political  wire-  • 
pulling  of  the  times,  and,  indeed,  the  contemptible  smallness  (as  he 
saw  it)  of  the  human  race  in  general.  Swift's  style  is  plain,  clear, 
and  quite  unadorned,  though  of  great  subtlety  and  intensity. 

Addison  and  Steele.  Much  milder  and  more  good-natured,  and 
therefore  more  effective  than  that  of  Swift,  is  the  satire  of  Addison 
and  Steele.  Joseph  Addison  (1672-17 19)  was  an  Oxford  man,  a 
model  of  the  most  perfect  good  breeding  and  probity  of  character, 
and  punctilious  in  the  discharge  of  his  many  official  duties.  He 
was  the  author  of  "Cato,"  which  is  our  most  perfect  example  of 
a  tragedy  in  the  rigidly  Classical  form  of  the  French  dramatists. 
Richard  Steele  (i 672-1 729)  was  an  Irishman,  a  man  of  varied 
and  irregular  life  and  of  a  buoyant  and  light-hearted  temperament. 
His  comedies  are  in  the  Restoration  manner,  but  are  quite  free 
from  the  coarseness  and  immorality  of  the  Restoration  plays.  The 
literary  collaboration  of  Addison  and  Steele  in  the  two  series  of 
periodical  essays  known  as  the  Tatlcr  and  the  Spectator  is  of  great 
importance  in  our  literature.  These  little  essays  have  as  their 
motive  an  attempt  to  reform  the  manners  of  the  age.  They  deal 
with  almost  all  the  aspects  and  types  of  character  in  the  town  life 


390 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


of  the  times— the  coffeehouse,  the  theater,  Vauxhall  gardens,  the 
aspiring  poet,  the  lady's  man,  the  coquette,  the  country  squire  (in 
the  person  of  the  hearty  and  lovable  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley), 
the  waterside,  Westminster,  and  a  hundred  other  topics.  There  is 
no  attempt  at  an  analysis  of  society,  a  determination  of  funda- 
mental causes,  or  a  shouting  of  the  battle  cries  of  great  reform. 

The  authors  are  content  to 
play  upon  the  surface  of  life 
in  a  tone  of  amused  raillery 
and  to  improve  the  taste 
and  manners  of  their  times 
by  the  gentle  art  of  ridicule.  | 
The  polished  elegance,  ur- 
banity, and  sureness  of  Ad- 
dison's style,  and  the  rich 
human  sympathy  of  Steele's, 
give  them  a  commanding 
place  among  the  great  es- 
sayists of  English  literature. 
Pope.  The  poetic  dicta-- 
torship  of  the  period  was 
in  the  hands  of  Alexander 
Pope.  He  was  born  in 
London  in  1688,  and  died  in 
1744.  The  fact  of  his  Cath- 
olic parentage  cut  him  off 
from  official  preferment,  and  this,  together  with  his  physical  frailness 
and  imperfection,  reacted  upon  the  none  too  generous  temperament 
with  which  he  was  endowed.  He  was  envious,  malicious,  spiteful, 
and  sometimes  dishonest.  And  yet,  in  spite  of  these  handicaps,  and 
by  virtue  of  a  most  assiduous  industry,  he  rose  to  be  the  most  con- 
spicuous poet  of  his  age.  His  early  "Pastorals,"  his  "Windsor 
Forest,"  and  his  "Eloisa  to  Abelard"  contain  slight — very  slight 
— touches  of  imaginative  response  to  nature  and  emotion.  But 
his  more  characteristic  work  is  completely  dominated  by  reason 
and  by  the  French  Classical  form.    "The  Rape  of  the  Lock"  is 


ALEXANDER  POPE 


ENGLISH  LITER,\TURE  391 

our  most  finished  example  of  a  miniature  epic — an  exquisitely 
polished  bit  of  satire  upon  the  utter  triviality  and  emptiness  of 
fashionable  life.  The  "Essay  on  Criticism"  is  a  poetic  exposition 
of  the  French  literary  theory  of  the  day,  which  so  completely  pre- 
vailed in  England  in  Pope's  time.  The  ''Essay  on  Man"  is  Pope's 
attempt  at  a  criticism  of  life.  It  accepts  the  religious  system 
known  as  deism/  and  the  social  theory  of  ''enlightened  selfish- 
ness," based  upon  the  easy-going  and  rather  shallow  assumptions 
that  "whatever  is,  is  right"  and  that  in  the  long  run  "self-love 
and  social  are  the  same."  "The  Dunciad"  is  an  ill-tempered  and 
generally  unjust  satire  upon  the  author's  many  literary  enemies. 
Pope's  translation  of  Homer,  based  chiefly  on  Latin  and  English 
versions,  and  carried  out  largely  with  the  help  of  assistants,  is  as 
far  removed  from  the  real  Homer  as  was  the  eighteenth  century 
itself  in  time  and  spirit. 

Pope's  style  exalts  correctness  as  the  prime  virtue.  He  is  our 
greatest  master  in^the  use  of  the  heroic  couplet,  which  he  handled 
with  a  deftness,  ease,  and  polished  elegance  that  are  little  short  of 
amazing.  A  few  lines  from  the  "Essay  on  Man"  will  serve  as 
an  example : 

"Two  principles  in  human  nature  reign; 
Self-love  to  urge,  and  reason  to  restrain ; 
Nor  this  a  good,  nor  that  a  bad  we  call. 
Each  works  its  end  to  move  or  govern  all : 
And  to  their  proper  operation  still 
Ascribe  all  good ;  to  their  improper,  ill." 

Many  of  Pope's  subtly  and  sharply  pointed  epigrams  have  become 
almost  proverbial ;  for  e.xample,  the  following : 

"Fair  tresses  man's  imperial  race  ensnare, 
And  beauty  draws  us  with  a  single  hair." 

"The  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man." 

"And  fools  rush  in  where  angels  fear  to  tread." 

"To  err  is  human,  to  forgive  divine." 

'The  deists  acknowledged  a  personal  God,  but  rejected  supernatural  revela- 
tion and  the  authority  of  the  Church. 


392  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  novel.  The  eighteenth  century  witnessed  the  rise  of  the 
English  novel  properly  so  called.  The  medieval  prose  and  verse 
romances  and  the  Elizabethan  pastoral  narratives  are  indeed 
stories,  but  have  virtually  none  of  the  organization  that  distin- 
guishes the  real  novel.  With  Daniel  Defoe  (1661-1731)  we  have 
the  first  writer  who  can  justly  claim  the  title  of  novelist,  and  even 
his  work  lacks  the  element  of  developed  plot.  The  striking  quali- 
ties in  Defoe's  art  as  a  novelist  are  extreme  vividness,  minuteness 
and  exactness  of  detail,  and  great  faithfulness  to  the  real  experi- 
ence and  temperament  of  his  imagined  characters.  His  ''Journal 
of  the  Plague  Year"  is  a  fictitious  narrative,  but  so  graphic  and 
circumstantial  are  the  details,  and  so  natural  is  the  narrator's 
reaction  to  them,  that  the  account  sounds  like  that  of  an  eyewit- 
ness. In  "Robinson  Crusoe"  the  same  fidelity  to  the  circumstances 
and  to  the  gradually  enlarging  environment  of  the  shipwrecked 
mariner,  and  the  same  sureness  of  insight  into  his  psychological 
development,  are  even  more  effectively  employed.  These  qualities 
appear  also  in  "Captain  Singleton,"  "Moll  Flanders,"  and  "Colo- 
nel Jack,"  types  of  the  picaresque,  or  rogue's,  novel,  so  popular 
especially  in  Spain. 

Samuel  Richardson  (i 689-1 761)  was  a  moralist,  the  principal 
aim  of  his  novels  being,  as  he  says,  "to  inculcate  virtue."  He 
adopted  the  epistolary  form,  which  lends  a  kind  of  dramatic  quality 
to  his  novels,  and  he  was  the  first  English  writer  to  give  careful  at- 
tention to  plot.  "Pamela"  is  the  story  of  a  housemaid  who  repels 
the  designing  advances  of  her  master.  "Clarissa  Harlowe"  is  upon 
much  the  same  theme,  but  the  setting  is  that  of  semi-aristocratic 
life.  "Sir  Charles  Grandison"  is  a  record  of  the  dutiful  discharge, 
by  the  hero,  of  many  heavy  obligations  that  run  counter  to  his 
hopes  and  desires.  Some  of  Richardson's  characters  are  well  drawn, 
but  his  didactic  tone  and  his  somewhat  sentimental  and  persistent 
praise  of  "virtue"  become  tiresome  to  the  reader. 

It  was  in  frank  opposition  to  this  sentimental  element  that 
Henry  Fielding  (i 707-1 754)  produced  his  first  important  novel, 
"Joseph  Andrews," — a  parody  on  Richardson's  "Pamela,"  in 
which  the  virtuous  serving-man  Joseph  resists  the  amorous  wiles  of 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  393 

his  mistress.  "Tom  Jones/'  Fielding's  greatest  novel,  is  a  record  of 
the  checkered  career  and  adventures  of  a  hearty,  vigorous,  strong- 
willed  young  blade,  whose  virtue  is  not  at  all  equal  to  that  of  Joseph 
in  the  earlier  novel.  It  is  not  often  that  Fielding  rises  to  a  real 
appreciation  of  the  finer  qualities  of  experience,  but  he  does  so  at 
times  in  his  third  notable  novel,  "Amelia."  Fielding  is  energetic, 
rather  roughshod,  wholesomely  scornful  of  all  false  sentiment,  not 
gifted  with  any  great  insight  into  the  deeper  or  more  complex 
sides  of  human  nature,  and  frequently  coarse,  but  not  immoral. 

Tobias  Smollett  (1721-1771)  introduced  into  his  novel  ''  Rod- 
erick Random"  the  important  element  of  life  at  sea.  For  the 
rest,  he  is  a  kind  of  minor  copyist  of  Fielding,  but  is  more  largely 
given  to  digression  and  to  cheap  and  rather  heavy  humor.  He  has 
almost  none  of  Fielding's  sj'mpathy  with  human  impulse  and  hu- 
man frailty.  His  other  important  novels  are  "Peregrine  Pickle," 
"Ferdinand,  Count  Fathom,"  and  "Humphrey  Clinker." 

Laurence  Sterne  (i 713-1768),  clergyman,  sentimental  dilet- 
tante, and  man  of  the  world,  produced  in  "Tristram  Shandy  "  one  of 
the  strangest  novels  in  our  literature.  It  is  a  protest  against  the 
reigning  worship  of  form  and  is  in  itself  the  extreme  of  utter  form- 
lessness. The  hero,  except  for  the  circumstances  of  his  birth,  hardly 
appears  in  the  story  at  all.  The  novel,  in  a  formal  sense,  has  nei- 
ther beginning  nor  end,  but  is  a  shapeless  jumble  of  incident, 
opinion,  and  sentiment.  And  yet  it  is  a  remarkable  book,  for  out 
of  the  confused  mass  of  material  there  emerge,  through  the  deft 
and  subtle  and  apparently  accidental  introduction  of  the  minutest 
detail  here  and  there,  the  delightfully  human  portraits  of  Uncle 
Toby,  Squire  Shandy,  and  the  designing  Widow  Wadman.  Just  such 
figures  emerge  also  from  the  random  details  of  the  "Sentimental 
Journey."  Sterne's  sentiment  is  in  reality  the  most  flagrant  senti- 
mentalism,  seeking  occasions  for  the  exhibition  of  emotion,  and  his 
coarseness  is  usually  without  the  justification  that  Fielding  may 
plead.  But  in  the  art  of  subtle  and  line-by-line  portraiture  he  has 
no  superior. 

Johnson.  The  literary  "dictator"  of  the  latter  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century  was  Samuel  Johnson.    He  was  born  in  Lichfield 


394 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


in  1709  and  died  in  1784.  After  a  brief  period  as  "poor  scholar" 
(working  his  way)  at  Oxford  he  went  to  London,  and  there  for 
many  years  Hved  in  the  direst  poverty,  eking  out  his  existence  by 
literary  hack  work.  His  poems  and  his  verse  tragedy  "Irene"  are 
in  the  satirical  vein  and  formal  style  of  Dryden,  Pope,  and  Addi- 
son.   His  "Dictionary  of  the  English  Language"  was  a  labor  of 

eight  years,  undertaken 
to  keep  the  wolf  from 
the  door.  His  independent 
and  manly  rejection  of 
Chesterfield's  offer  to  ac- 
cept the  dedication  of  this 
work  when  it  seemed  an 
assured  success,  after  his 
contemptuous  repulse  of 
Johnson's  earlier  appeal, 
marked  the  end  of  the 
patronage_  of  English  lit- 
erature  bv-JJie,  aristoc- 
racy..  Johnson's  periodical 
essays  in  the  Rambler 
and  the  Idler  are  in  the 
Spectator  form,  but  have 
little  of  the  grace,  light- 
ness, and  ease  of  the  work 
of  Addison  and  Steele. 
His  moralizing  romance 
"Rasselas"  was  written  in  a  week's  time  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
his  mother's  funeral.  His  edition  of  Shakespeare  was  a  work  of 
great  industry  and  painstaking  care.  He  was  pensioned  by  the  king 
in  1762  and  thereafter  was  free  from  the  heavy  burden  of  poverty. 
Johnson  was  the  center  and  dominating  influence  of  the  Literary 
Club,  formed  in  1764,  a  circle  which  included  Burke,  Goldsmith, 
David  Garrick, — the  greatest  actor  of  his  time, — the  famous  por- 
trait painter  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  and  Johnson's  biographer  James 
Boswell.    The  only  important  literary  product  of  these  latter  years 


SAMUEL  JOHNSON 
From  the  portrait  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds 


ENGLISH  LITER.\TURE 


395 


was  "The  Lives  of  the  Poets,"  in  which,  though  insistent  upon  the 
conservative  principles  of  the  Classical  school,  the  criticisms  are 
often  admirably  just  and  fair.  These  years,  however,  and  the  Club 
circle  reflect  Johnson  the  conversationalist.  In  the  art  of  conversa- 
tion, although  doing  most  of  the  talking  himself,  he  was  one  of  the 
few  great  masters  in  our  literature.    The  faithful  Boswell,  in  his 


n     f 


JOHNSON  S  HOUSE  AND  STATUE,  LICHFIELD 


"Life  of  Samuel  Johnson,"  has  left  us  a  monument  to  this  aspect 
of  the  great  man's  life — and,  indeed,  of  his  whole  personality — so 
painstaking,  exact,  circumstantial,  and  just  as  to  make  his  work 
one  of  the  great  biographies  of  literature.  Johnson's  faults  were 
not  a  few.  He  was  a  thoroughgoing  Tory,  not  greatly  open  to  new 
ideas,  uncouth  and  overbearing  in  manner,  and  ponderous  and  long- 
winded  in  his  over-Latinized  style.  But  the  sterling  independence 
and  warm-heartedness  of  his  character,  and  the  eminent  fair- 
ness and  good  sense  of  his  writings,  go  far  to  counterbalance 
these  defects. 

Oliver  Goldsmith  was  the  most  lovable  and  thoroughly  human 
of  the  circle  that  grouped  itself  about  Johnson.  He  was  born  in 
1728  at  Pallas,  County  Longford,  Ireland,    His  student  days  at  the 


396  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

University  of  Dublin  were  enlivened  by  frequent  collisions  with  the 
proctors  over  champagne  suppers  and  other  forbidden  pleasures. 
He  tried  to  fit  himself  for  the  Church,  for  the  law,  and  for  medi- 
cine, and  although  he  finally  obtained  the  medical  degree,  his 
practice  amounted  to  nothing.  He  tramped  over  a  large  part  of 
France  and  Italy,  playing  his  flute  for  his  meals.  In  1756  he  re- 
turned to  London,  worked  as  a  hack  writer  for  the  periodicals, 
enjoyed  an  occasional  happy  hour  at  the  Club  or  with  a  few  sym- 
pathetic friends,  and  died,  in  debt  for  his  lodgings,  in  1774.  From 
the  midst  of  his  literary  drudgery  Goldsmith  produced  three  great 
pieces  of  work,  all  of  them  typical  of  his  own  deep  love  for  his- 
fellow  men.  "The  Deserted  Village"  is  a  poem,  in  the  favorite 
heroic  couplet  form,  descriptive  of  his  native  village  in  Ireland. 
It  is  comparable  to  Whittier's  "Snowbound"  in  its  loving  reference 
to  the  old  familiar  places  and  associates  of  his  youth.  Nowhere 
shall  we  find  more  deeply  sympathetic  character  sketches  than 
those  of  the  village  preacher  and  the  schoolmaster.  The  former 
reflects  in  a  score  of  ways  Goldsmith's  own  erratic,  improvident, 
and  generous  nature.  "The  Vicar  of  Wakefield"  is  not  a  great 
novel  from  the  technical  point  of  view ;  but  here  again  the  gentle, 
gullible,  unworldly  Vicar  Primrose  is  a  reflection  of  Goldsmith 
himself,  and  one  of  the  great  figures  in  English  fiction.  "She 
Stoops  to  Conquer"  is  a  comedy  in  Goldsmith's  richest  vein  of 
kindly  humor,  in  which  satire  finds  no  place.  Though  under  the 
Classical  influence  in  its  form,  the  work  of  Goldsmith,  in  its 
tendency  to  idealize  character  and  incident,  in  its  loving  regard 
for  the  far  away  and  long  ago,  and  in  its  affection  for  rural  life 
and  scenes,  is  in  line  with  the  coming  Romantic  movement. 

Edmund  Burke  (i 729-1 797),  one  of  the  greatest  political 
orators  in  English  history,  in  his  famous  speech  "On  Concilia- 
tion with  the  Colonies"  pointed  out  the  way  of  wisdom,  which 
George  III  and  Lord  North  refused  to  take.  For  the  greater  part 
of  twenty  years  he  labored  on  the  impeachment  of  Hastings  for 
maladministration  in  India  ;  and,  although  Hastings  was  acquitted, 
the  efforts  of  Burke  were  followed  by  notable  reforms  in  India.  His 
essentially  conservative  and  practical  nature  led  him  to  what  now 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  397 

seems  a  false  judgment  on  the  French  Revolution,  which  he  bitterly 
opposed.  But  for  logical  and  clear-headed  and  generally  wise  treat- 
ment of  public  questions  the  orations  of  Burke  have  seldom  been 
surpassed. 

Richard  Brinsley  Sheridan  (1751-1816),  the  most  brilliant 
dramatist  of  the  period,  in  "The  Rivals"  and  ''The  School  for 
Scandal"  has  pictured,  quite  in  the  manner  of  the  Restoration 
comedy  but  without  any  of  its  immoral  quality,  the  shallowness 
and  empty  gossip-mongering  of  the  fashionable  society  of  his 
times.  These  plays,  together  with  Goldsmith's  "She  Stoops  to 
Conquer,"  have  held  their  place  on  the  stage  to  the  present  day. 

Beginnings  of  the  Romantic  Movement 

Minor  poets.  The  pendulum  of  literature  is  never  at  rest.  At 
the  very  height  of  the  Classical  hostility  to  romance  the  Romantic 
revival  began.  The  ClassicIstsTiad  done  a  necessary  work  and  had 
done  it  well.  English  literature  needed  the  sobering  and  chasten- 
ing disciplinewhichjthey  imposed  upon  it.  But  as  early  as  eighteen 
years  before  the  death  of  Pope  there  began  to  be  heard  the  voices 
of  rebels  in  the  camp.  These  voices  proclaimed  the  superiority  of 
nature  to  parks  and  trim  gardens,  of  the  medieval  past  to  the 
sophisticated  present,  of  dream  and  vision  to  reality,  of  the  spir- 
itual to  the  material,  and  of  the  individual  soul  to  social  customs, 
conventions,  and  institutions.  In  1726  appeared  the  first  of  the 
poems  of  James  Thomson  (1700-1748).  It  was  entitled  "Winter" 
and  was  later  expanded  into  "The  Seasons."  These  poems  mark 
the  reentrance  into  Englishjiterature^f_externaljiai^^ 
rqaU^XLanj^Qlblajjkj^-erse  as  a  poetic  form.  In  "The  Castle  of  In- 
dolence" Thomson  makes  use  of  the  long-ignored  Spenserian  stanza 
and  succeeds  in  recapturing  much  of  Spenser's  poetic  tone  and  man- 
ner. The  poems  of  William  Collins  (i 721-1759),  especially  his 
"Ode  to  Evening,"  are  in  a  vein  of  very  delicate  and  tender  poetic 
melancholy.  Thomas  Gray  (1716-1771),  scholar,  recluse,  and  lin- 
guist, in  his  "Elegy  Written  in  a  Country  Churchyard,"  one  of  the 
most  popular  and  dearly  loved  poems  in  our  language,  sings  in  ex- 


398  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

quisitely  musical  quatrains  of  the  hopes  and  fears,  the  daily  round 
of  pleasure  and  pain,  of  the  humble  and  unremembered  dead.  Gray 
cultivated  the  ode  also,  and  "The  Bard"  and  "The  Progress  of 
Poesy  "  are  among  our  best  examples  in  that  form.  He  translated 
ringing  passages  from  the  poetry  of  far-off  Iceland.  The  poems  of 
William  Blake  (1757-182 7)  are  for  the  most  part  outpourings  of 
mystical  rapture  by  a  man  who  dwelt  in  a  world  of  vision  and  the 
visitation  of  spirits.  IVIuch  of  his  writing  is  so  incoherent  as  to  be 
almost  unintelligible.  But  some  of  his  best  short  lyrics,  such  as 
those  in  his  "Poetical  Sketches,"  "Songs  of  Innocence,"  and  "Songs 
of  Experience,"  have  an  appealing  simplicity  and  concreteness  that 
are  suggestive  of  Coleridge.  W'e  have  also  Bishop  Percy's  "Re- 
liques  of  Ancient  English  Poetry  "  ;  the  poetic  imitations  of  medie- 
val themes  by  the  ill-fated  young  man  of  genius  Chatterton ;  the 
dim  and  shadowy  prose  poems  of  Macpherson,  attributed  by  him 
to  the  ancient  Gaelic  bard  Ossian ;  the  deeply  grave  and  spiritual 
hymns  and  other  devotional  poetry  of  William  Cowper;  and  the 
harsh  and  rugged  but  profoundly  sympathetic  poems  of  George 
Crabbe,  picturing  the  lives  of  the  poor  in  the  fishing-village  and 
the  country  borough. 

Burns.  The  really  great  name  in  the  list  of  early  Romantic  poets 
is  that  of  Robert  Burns.  He  was  born  in  Ayrshire,  Scotland,  in 
1759,  of  humble,  devout,  hard-working  peasant  parents.  He  had 
practically  no  systematic  schooling  and  but  few  books  to  read.  As 
he  followed  the  plow,  the  sights  and  sounds  and  emotions  of  nature 
and  of  peasant  experience  ran  riming  through  his  mind,  often  to  the 
tune  of  some  popular  old  song,  and  in  the  evening  hours  he  wrote 
out  his  poetic  improvisations.  Like  Goldsmith,  Burns  lacked  the 
prudence  and  worldly  wisdom  that  are  essential  to  material  success ; 
and,  moreover,  he  was  endowed  with  a  vigorous,  independent,  and 
passionate  nature  that  led  him  more  than  once  into  moral  lapses 
for  which  there  is  no  excuse,  but  possibly  much  extenuation.  After 
his  father's  death  the  farm  went  badly,  and  Burns  was  on  the  eve 
of  emigration  to  Jamaica  in  the  hope  of  repairing  his  broken  for- 
tunes and  darkened  reputation,  when  he  was  invited  to  Edinburgh 
by  a  scholar  friend.  His  little  volume  of  published  poems  had  at- 


ENGLISH  LTTER-\TURE 


399 


tracted  the  notice  of  the  aristocratic  world,  and  Burns  suddenly 
found  himself  the  center  of  an  admiring  circle  of  notables.  On  his 
second  visit  a  year  later,  however,  the  novelty  of  his  presence  had 
worn  off,  and  he  was  indifferently  if  not  coldly  received.  He  was 
disappointed  and  embittered,  and  went  back  to  farming  and  to  a 
small  post  in  the  excise 


service.  But  dissipation 
and  discouragement  told 
heavily  upon  him,  and  he 
died  in  1796,  at  the  age 
of  thirty-seven. 

No  man  ever  put  more 
of  himself  into  his  poetry 
than  Burns  or  entered 
more  heartily  and  feelingly 
into  the  varied  aspects  of 
human  experience.  There 
are  an  absolute  frankness 
and  sincerity  about  his 
work,  and  a  freshness  and 
vividness  of  first-hand 
contact  with  his  subjects, 
that  are  a  welcome  relief 
from  the  formal  correct- 
ness of  the  Classical  writ- 
ers. He  cared  nothing 
for  "poetic  material"  or 

"poetic  diction."  For  him  the  whole  of  experience  was  poetic,  and 
his  finest  work  is  in  the  homely  Scottish  dialect  to  which  he  was 
born  and  bred.  One  need  only  recall  the  roistering  fun  of  the  "Jolly 
Beggars,"  the  friendly  humor  of  "Tarn  O'Shanter,"  the  natural 
tenderness  of  the  home  feeling  in  "The  Cotter's  Saturday  Night," 
the  sly  merriment  of  the  poem  "To  a  Louse"  on  seeing  one  on  a  *^ 
lady's  bonnet  at  church,  the  rich  kindliness  of  the  old  farmer's  New 
Year  morning  greeting  to  his  old  mare,  the  exquisite  sympathy  of 
the  beautiful  lyrics  "To  a  Mouse"  and  "To  a  Mountain  Daisy," 


ROBERT  BURNS 


40O  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

the  sterling  independence  of  "A  Man's  a  Man  for  a'  That,"  the  bit- 
ing satire  of  "Holy  Willie's  Prayer,"  and  the  sympathy  even  with 
Old  Nick  himself  in  his  "Address  to  the  Deil "  to  get  an  idea  of  the 
range  of  Burns's  genius.  But  it  is  as  a  writer  of  songs  that  Burns 
takes  a  commanding  place  in  literature.  He  is  the  supreme 
song-writer  of  the  world.  There  is  hardly  a  human  emotion  that 
he  does  not  express  superlatively  well.  The  mere  mention  of 
such  beautifully  simple  lyrics  as  "John  Anderson  my  Jo,"  "Comin' 
through  the  Rye,"  "Auld  Lang  Syne,"  "Bonnie  Boon,"  "Wilhe 
Brewed  a  Peck  o'  Maut,"  "Highland  Mary,"  "Bonnie  Jean," 
"Duncan  Gray,"  "Sweet  Afton,"  "Scots  Wha  Hae,"  recalls  to  the 
lover  of  song  a  wealth  of  musical  and  lyrical  power  that  is  un- 
matched in  the  world's  literature.  Burns's  life  was  a  failure,  as 
judged  by  ordinary  standards,  but  he  has  left  the  world  a  priceless 
inheritance  quite  beyond  the  power  of  worldly  success  to  offer. 

Early  Romantic  fiction.  The  early  Romantic  tendency  in  fiction 
expressed  itself  chiefly  in  an  exaggerated  emphasis  upon  the  remote, 
mysterious,  and  supernatural,  which  places  it  upon  a  level  de- 
cidedly below  that  of  the  later  and  better-ordered  work  of  Scott. 
This  fiction  is  commonly  labeled  "Gothic  romance,"  and  the  best 
examples  of  it  are  Horace  Walpole's  "Castle  of  Otranto,"  Beckford's 
"Vathek,"  and  Mrs.  Radcliffe's  "Mysteries  of  Udolpho."  The  so- 
called  "sentimental  school,"  following  in  the  wake  of  Sterne,  finds 
its  foremost  representative  in  Henry  Mackenzie,  the  hero  of  whose 
"Man  of  Feeling"  "bursts  into  tears"  upon  every  conceivable  oc- 
casion. The  novel  of  social  protest  too  finds  an  early  example  in 
the  "Caleb  Williams"  of  William  Godwin,  social  reformer  and 
sympathizer  with  the  French  Revolution. 

Reference  List 

Historical  and  Critical: 
Greex.    Short  History  of  the  English  People.    Harper  &  Brothers. 
Cheyney.    Short  History  of  England.    Ginn  and  Company. 
Cheyxey.   Social   and   Industrial    History    of   England.    The    Macmillan 

Company. 
Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vols.  I-XI.    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  401 

LouNSBURY.    History  of  the  English  Language.  Henry  Holt  and  Company. 

Dictionary  of  National  Biography.    The  Macmillan  Company. 

Cambridge  History  of  English  Literature  (earlier  volumes).  G.  P.  Put- 
nam's Sons. 

G.ARXETT  and  Gosse.  History  of  English  Literature,  Vols.  I-HL  The  Mac- 
millan Company. 

S.AixTSBURY.   Short  History  of  English  Literature.  The  Macmillan  Company. 

School  histories  of  English  literature  by  Long  (Ginn  and  Company), 
Halleck  (American  Book  Company),  Moody  and  Lovett  (Charles 
Scribner'i  Sons),  Newcomer  (Scott,  Foresman  and  Company),  and 
other  authors. 

Brooke.    History  of  Early  English  Literature.    The  Macmillan  Company. 

Lewis.    Beginnings  of  English  Literature.    Ginn  and  Company. 

Bexh.xm.  English  Literature  from  VVidsith  to  the  Death  of  Chaucer. 
Yale  University  Press. 

Baldwin.  Introduction  to  English  Medieval  Literature.  Longmans,  Green 
&  Co. 

Bates.    The  English  Religious  Drama.    The  Macmillan  Company. 

ScHOFiELD.  English  Literature  from  the  Norman  Conquest  to  Chaucer. 
The  Macmillan  Company. 

Schofield.  English  Literature  from  Chaucer  to  Elizabeth.  The  Macmillan 
Company. 

Kittredge.    Chaucer  and  his  Poetry.    Harvard  University  Press. 

Saintsbury.    Elizabethan  Literature.    The  Macmillan  Company. 

SvMONS.    Studies  in  the  Elizabethan  Drama.    E.  P.  Dutton  &  Company. 

GossE.  A  History  of  Eighteenth  Century  Literature.  The  Macmillan 
Company. 

Phelps.  Beginnings  of  the  English  Romantic  Movement.  Ginn  and 
Company. 

Collections: 
Cook  and  Tinker.    Select  Translations  from  Old  English  Poetry.    Ginn 

and  Company. 
Cook.     A  Literary  Middle  English  Reader.     Ginn  and  Company. 
Kittredge  and  Sargent.    English  and  Scottish  Popular  Ballads.    Houghton 

Mifflin  Company. 
Thaver.    The  Best  Elizabethan  Plays.    Ginn  and  Company. 
Garnett.    English  Prose  from  Elizabeth  to  Victoria.     Ginn  and  Company. 
Hopkins  and  Hughes.    The  English  Novel  before  the  Nineteenth  Century. 

Ginn  and  Company. 
Tupper.    Representative  English  Drama  from  Dryden  to  Sheridan.    Oxford 

University  Press. 
Manly.    English   Prose  and  Poetry    (Ginn  and   Company).   Also  similar 

volumes  by  other  publishers. 


402  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Series,  Libraries,  etc.: 

English  Men  of  Letters.    The  Macmillan  Company. 

Athcna'um  Press  Series  (for  old  English  ballads,  Elizabethan  and  seven- 
teenth-century lyrics,  Shakespeare's  sonnets,  and  selections  from  Ad- 
dison, Burns,  Fielding,  Gray,  Collins,  Herrick,  the  Morte  d'Arthur,  the 
pre-Shakespearcan  drama,  Sheridan,  Sidney,  and  Steele).  Ginn  and 
Company. 

Mermaid  Series  of  Old  Dramatists.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Everyman's  Library.    E.  P.  Button  &  Company. 

Bohn  Library.    Harcourt,  Brace  and  Company. 

Temple  Library.    E.  P.  Dutton  &  Company. 

School  scries:  Standard  English  Classics  (Ginn  and  Company).  Also  simi- 
lar series  by  other  publishers. 

Shakespeare : 
Editions : 

Cambridge  (i  vol.).    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

Oxford  (3  vols.).    Oxford  University  Press. 

Temple  (40  vols.).    J.  M.  Dent  &  Sons. 

School  texts:  New  Hudson  (16  plays)  (Ginn  and  Company).  Also 
school  series  by  other  publishers. 

Biography,  criticism,  etc.: 

Abbott.    A  Shakespearean  Grammar.   The  Macmillan  Company. 

Bartlett.     Concordance  to  Shakespeare.     The  Macmillan  Company. 

Lee.    Life  of  William  Shakespeare.    The  Macmillan  Company. 

NiELSON  and  Thorxdike.  The  Facts  about  Shakespeare.  The  Macmillan 
Company. 

Brandes.  William  Shakespeare,  a  Critical  Study.  The  Macmillan  Com- 
pany. 

Baker.  Development  of  Shakespeare  as  a  Dramatist.  The  Macmillan 
Company. 

Moultox.   Shakespeare  as  a  Dramatic  Artist.    Oxford  University  Press. 

MouLTON.  Shakespeare  as  a  Dramatic  Thinker.   The  Macmillan  Company. 

Bradley.     Shakespearean  Tragedy.     The  Macmillan  Company. 

DiTCHFiELD.    The  England  of  Shakespeare.    E.  P.  Dutton  &  Company. 

Thorndike.    Shakespeare's  Theatre.    The  Macmillan  Company. 

Winter.    Shakespeare  on  the  Stage.    Moffat,  Yard  and  Company. 

Suggested  Topics 

Beowulf  and  Roland  as  epic  heroes. 

Caedmon. 

The  Canterbury  pilgrims. 

"Piers  Plowman"  as  a  social  document. 

Theories  of  ballad  composition. 

An  Elizabethan  song  recital. 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  403 


Spenser  and  Ariosto. 

Bacon's  view  of  life  as  revealed  in  the  "Essays." 

The  English  religious  drama. 

The  story  of  Shakespeare's  life. 

The  stage  in  Shakespeare's  time. 

London  in  Shakespeare's  time. 

Development  of  Shakespeare's  genius. 

Milton's  prose. 

"Paradise  Lost"  and  "The  Divine  Comedy." 

Scenes  from  "The  Pilgrim's  Progress." 

The  Spectator  —  its  material  and  value. 

Pope's  "Essay  on  Man." 

Pope's  "Essay  on  Criticism." 

One  of  the  eighteenth-century  novelists. 

Johnson's  personality. 

Gold.smith  as  a  man. 

One  of  the  early  Romantic  poets. 

A  Burns  song  recital. 

Carlyle's  estimate  of  Burns. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

ENGLISH  LITERATURE  (CONTINUED) 

With  the  opening  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  came  the  full 
tide  of  the  Romantic  movement  in  English  letters.  It  was  essentially 
an  age  of  poetry,  glorified  by  the  names  of  Byron,  Keats,  Shelley, 
Coleridge,  Wordsworth,  and  others.  But  the  prose  literature  of  the 
period  includes  names  scarcely  less  illustrious — Sir  Walter  Scott, 
Lamb,  Hazlitt,  De  Quincey.  In  point  of  time  it  covers  less  than 
forty  years,  reaching  roughly  from  the  publication  of  "Lyrical  Bal- 
lads" by  Wordsworth  and  Coleridge  in  1798  to  the  accession  of 
Queen  Victoria  in  1837.  English  Romanticism  is  of  perennial  in- 
terest because  of  its  display  of  the  enthusiasm  and  individualism  of 
youth,  its  revolt  against  rigid  rules  of  art,  its  imaginative  fervor 
and  sense  of  beauty,  its  use  of  the  finest  impulses  of  mind  and  heart. 

The  Poetry  of  Romanticism 

Several  poets  of  the  Romantic  period  call  for  a  brief  study. 

George  Gordon,  Lord  Byron^  ( 1 788-1824)  was  born  in  London, 
was  educated  at  Harrow  and  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  pub- 
lished his  earliest  poems  before  he  was  twenty,  proved  a  dazzling 
figure  in  the  public  eye,  lived  abroad  in  self-exile  after  a  period  of 
domestic  unhappiness,  and  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-six  at  Misso- 
longhi,  Greece,  where  he  had  gone  to  aid  the  cause  of  Greek  inde- 
pendence. ''That  mighty  genius,"  Scott  described  him,  "which 
walked  amongst  us  as  something  superior  to  ordinary  mortality, 
and  whose  powers  were  beheld  with  wonder,  and  something  ap- 
proaching to  terror,  as  if  we  knew  not  whether  they  were  of  good 
or  evil." 

iJt  will  be  noticed  that  the  Romantic  poets  are  not  here  treated  strictly 
in  their  chronological  order.  The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  1798,  the  year 
of  the  publication  of  Wordsworth  and  Coleridge's  "Lyrical  Ballads,"  ushers 
in  the  age  of  Romanticism  in  English  poetry. 

404 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  405 

The  contemporary  fame  of  Byron,  especially  on  the  Continent, 
where  indeed  he  still  has  a  much  greater  popularity  than  in  Eng- 
land, was  due  to  his  brilliant  personality  and  glorious  sense  of 
power  and  to  the  expression  which  he  gave  to  the  spirit  of  his  age — 
revolt,  freedom,  self-reliance.  His  faults  are  obvious:  personal 
coarseness  and  egotism,  bombast,  flippancy,  arrogance.  Yet  he  was 
a  warm-hearted  friend,  he  exhibited  physical  and  moral  courage,  he 
loved  freedom,  and  he  hated  hypocrisy.  The  following  lines  from 
"Manfred,"  the  play  which  seems  best  to  present  the  typical  By- 
ronic  hero,  give  the  measure  of  Byron  himself : 

"This  should  have  been  a  noble  creature :  he 
Hath  all  the  energy  which  should  have  made 
A  goodly  frame  of  glorious  elements, 
Had  they  been  wisely  mingled ;  as  it  is, 
It  is  an  awful  chaos — light  and  darkness — 
And  mind  and  dust — and  passions  and  pure  thoughts, 
Mixed,  and  contending  without  end  or  order, 
All  dormant  and  destructive." 

While  we  find  in  Byron's  poetry  little  magic,  or  subtle  beauty,  or 
real  artistry,  such  as  characterized  the  work  of  his  fellow  English 
poets,  certain  remarkable  qualities,  and  these  of  no  mean  order,  re- 
veal themselves.  Byron  describes  poetry  as  "the  lava  of  the  im- 
agination, whose  irruption  prevents  an  earthquake."  He  displays, 
when  at  his  best,  energy,  eloquence,  volcanic  power.  His  nature 
poetry,  especially  his  descriptions  of  the  sea,  is  deservedly  famous ; 
and  as  a  satirist  he  has  few  rivals  among  English  poets. 

Such  of  Byron's  lyrics  as  "^laid  of  .\thens,"  "Stanzas  to  Au- 
gusta," and  "She  Walks  in  Beauty"  and  other  poems  included  in 
"Hebrew  Melodies,"  will  always  be  popular;  so  also  will  his  diary 
in  verse,  "Childe  Harold,"  especially  Cantos  III  and  IV;  his  bril- 
liant metrical  romances  "Mazeppa"  and  "The  Prisoner  of  Chil- 
lon"  ;  and  the  finest  passages  of  his  masterpiece,  "Don  Juan."  The 
best  of  Byron's  prose  is  almost  as  noteworthy  as  his  best  verse  ;  and 
the  man  himself  remains  more  interesting  than  either  his  prose  or 
his  poetry. 


4o6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

John  Keats  (1795-1821)  lived  his  brief  life  in  England  and 
closed  it  in  Rome,  whither  he  had  gone  with  his  friend  Severn  in 
search  of  health.  "The  publication  of  three  small  volumes  of  verse," 
says  Lord  Houghton,  "some  earnest  friendships,  one  profound  pas- 
sion, and  a  premature  death  .  .  .  [are]  the  only  incidents  of  his 
career." 

Although  Keats  was  born  in  humble  circumstances  and  received 
only  a  modest  education,  he  was  iired  as  a  youth  with  a  love  for 
poetry,  and  he  lived  in  his  early  manhood  in  an  intellectual  atmos- 
phere, surrounded  by  sympathetic  friends.  He  early  abandoned 
the  profession  of  medicine  and  devoted  himself  to  literature.  Spen- 
ser influenced  him  deeply  ;  his  affinities  were  largely  Elizabethan, 
though  he  was  passionately  fond  of  the  Greeks  and  of  Greek  themes. 
To  him  and  Shelley  is  chiefly  due  the  honor  of  recovering  the  beauty 
of  an  earlier  time ;  their  influence  is  felt  deeply  to  this  day, 

Keats's  first  work  of  consequence,  "Endymion,"  was  clearly  im- 
mature, as  he  himself  appreciated.  The  attacks  upon  it  he  did  not 
choose  to  answer.  "  Praise  or  blame,"  he  said,  "has  but  a  momentary 
effect  on  the  man  whose  love  of  beauty  in  the  abstract  makes  him  a 
severe  critic  on  his  own  work."  Development  came  rapidly,  and 
within  three  years  his  finest  work  was  published :  "The  Eve  of  St. 
Agnes,"  "Lamia,"  "Hyperion,"  "Isabella;  or  the  Pot  of  Basil,"  and 
his  glorious  odes. 

Keats  had  a  warm,  affectionate  nature,  a  passionate  feeling  for 
sensuous  beauty,  an  acute  sensitiveness  to  the  appeal  of  eye  and  ear 
and  touch.  "Oh,  for  a  life  of  sensations  rather  than  of  thoughts!" 
he  said.  His  imagination  reached  out  to  every  sensation  of  the  mo- 
ment, whether  its  source  was  in  nature,  or  art,  or  human  beauty. 
A  temperament  so  ardent  is  apt  to  lack  fiber;  and  Keats  rarely 
shows  appreciation  for  intellectual  or  spiritual  beauty,  though  in  his 
later  work  he  had  learned  how  to  express  the  relationship  of  beauty 
to  the  finer  human  emotions,  saying,  "I  have  loved  the  principle  of 
beauty  in  all  things,  and  if  I  had  had  time  I  would  have  made  my- 
self remembered."  It  may  be  idle  to  conjecture  what  his  develop- 
ment would  have  been  had  he  lived ;  it  is  enough  to  say  that  his 
achievement  in  his  brief  span  of  years  seems  almost  miraculous. 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  407 

To  read  Keats's  characteristic  poems  is  to  enter  a  world  of  pure 
delight,  where  one  encounters  at  every  turn  rich  imagery,  splendid 
diction,  color,  rhythm,  beauty.  The  very  beginnings  of  these  poems 
are  an  enchantment,  as  in  "Hyperion" : 

"Deep  in  the  shady  sadness  of  a  vale 
Far  sunken  from  the  healthy  breath  of  morn, 
Far  from  the  fiery  noon,  and  eve's  one  star, 
Sat  gray-hair'd  Saturn,  quiet  as  a  stone, 
Still  as  the  silence  round  about  his  lair." 

or  in  such  famous  first  lines  as 

"I  stood  tip-toe  upon  a  httle  hill." 

"A  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever." 

"Bright  star !  would  I  were  steadfast  as  thou  art." 

"Much  have  I  travell'd  in  the  realms  of  gold. 
And  many  goodly  states  and  kingdoms  seen." 

"Lo !  I  must  tell  a  tale  of  chivalry ; 
For  large  white  plumes  are  dancing  in  my  eye." 

Keats  weaves  a  weird  charm  in  "La  Belle  Dame  sans  Merci," 
one  of  the  most  subtle  and  suggestive  of  his  poems.  "Isabella,"  the 
less-known  and  more  beautiful  (though  fragmentary)  "Eve  of  St. 
Mark,"  and,  most  wonderful  of  all,  the  "Eve  of  St.  Agnes"  reveal 
such  glowing  imagery  and  magic  that  they  must  be  classed  with  the 
best  of  Romantic  narrative  poems.  Keats  has  also  to  his  credit  a 
group  of  sonnets  worthy  of  the  finest  English  traditions.  Nor  can 
we  possibly  forget  his  richly  chiseled  and  artistic  odes,  which  reveal 
new  beauties  after  the  hundredth  reading:  "Ode  on  a  Grecian 
Urn,"  "Ode  to  Psyche,"  "To  Autumn/'  "Ode  to  a  Nightingale." 
Witness  a  single  stanza  from  the  last-named  ode : 

"Thou  wast  not  born  for  death,  immortal  Bird  ! 

No  hungr>'  generations  tread  thee  down  ; 

The  voice  I  hear  this  passing  night  was  heard 

In  ancient  days  by  emf)eror  and  clown  : 


4o8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Perhaps  the  self-same  song  that  found  a  path 

Through  the  sad  heart  of  Ruth,  when,  sick  for  home, 
She  stood  in  tears  amid  the  ahen  corn ; 
The  same  that  oft-times  hath 
Charm'd  magic  casements,  opening  on  the  foam 
Of  perilous  seas,  in  faery  lands  forlorn." 

Percy  Bysshe  Shelley  ( 1 792-1 82  2 )  was  born  in  Sussex,  of  a  fine 
old  English  family.  At  Eton  he  was  looked  upon  as  a  delicate  youth 
of  excitable  nature,  and  at  University  College,  Oxford,  as  an  attrac- 
tive young  man  with  a  spiritual  face  and  unworldly  nature,  eccen- 
tric in  manner,  and  possessing  a  strong  tendency  toward  radicalism. 
It  is  well  known  that  he  was  expelled  from  college  for  his  atheistic 
views ;  that  he  contracted  an  early  romantic  marriage  with  Harriet 
Westbrook ;  that  he  was  gradually  estranged  from  her  and  con- 
sidered the  obligations  of  marriage  no  longer  binding  ;  that  he  went 
to  the  Continent  in  company  with  Mary  Godwin,  whom  he  subse- 
quently married  after  the  death  by  suicide  of  his  first  wife ;  that 
during  his  last  years  he  lived  in  Italy ;  that  his  life  was  tragically 
closed  by  drowning  off  the  Italian  coast ;  and  that  his  grave  is  near 
that  of  Keats  in  the  Protestant  cemetery  at  Rome. 

Naturally,  perhaps,  the  genius  and  the  high  aspirations  and 
idealism  of  Shelley  were  obscured  to  his  generation  by  his  uncon- 
ventional ideas  and  the  strange  passages  in  his  life.  When  he  died, 
his  poetry  was  but  little  known  in  England.  The  publication  of  his 
complete  works  in  1839  brought  about  a  change.  Dowden's  full 
and  sympathetic  biography  is  but  one  of  many  important  studies 
of  the  poet  which  have  been  made  since  that  day.  While  Shelley's 
poems  have  not  even  yet  become  universally  known,  there  is  no 
doubt  as  to  his  position  among  the  chief  of  English  lyric  poets. 

Shelley  lived  in  an  idealistic  world,  a  world  of  imagination  and 
fancy,  and  he  repeatedly  shows  an  ethereal,  soaring  quality  in  his 
work.  In  contradistinction  to  Keats  he  was  swayed  emotionally  by 
sympathy  and  understanding  rather  than  by  passion.  He  had  a 
burning  desire  to  free  mankind  from  every  kind  of  intellectual  and 
political  oppression.  He  reflected  in  his  poems  his  own  thoughts 
and  feelings,  his  strivings  for  intellectual  beauty,  his  longings  and 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE 


409 


sorrows  and  regrets.  He  hoped,  as  he  himself  said,  to  familiarize 
the  imagination  of  his  readers  with  "beautiful  idealisms  of  moral 
excellence."  His  dreams  were  of  love  that  involved  sympathy  and 
understanding,  of  a  perfected  world  governed  by  liberty  and  justice 
and  wisdom,    "The  spirit 


of  Shelley,"  says  Mr.  Sy- 
mons,  "will  always  be  a 
light  to  every  seeker  after 
the  things  that  are  out- 
side the  world.  To  watch 
him  is  to  be  filled  with  joy, 
to  forget  mean  and  trivial 
things,  to  share  a  rapture." 
Only  the  early  poems 
of  Shelley  are  immature. 
He  soon  reached  and  main- 
tained a  high  level  of 
excellence,  exhibiting  a 
boundless  skill  in  versifi- 
cation and  in  the  expres- 
sion of  poetic  images.  His 
romantic  poem  "The  Re- 
volt of  Islam"  and  his 
lyrical  drama  "Prome- 
theus Unbound"  display 

his  curious  philosophical  ideas  and  are  replete  with  melody  and 
aspiration.  "The  Cenci"  is  a  repulsive  tragedy,  the  most  power- 
ful, perhaps,  of  English  tragedies  since  Shakespeare,  but  it  is 
the  least  characteristic  of  Shelley's  work.  It  is  in  his  matchless 
lyric  poems,  with  their  deep  emotional^  appeal,  that  Shelley's 
fame  chiefly  resides.  "The  Cloud,"  "To  a  Skylark,"  and  "Ode  to 
the  West  Wind"  are  among  the  most  exquisite  lyrics  in  English. 
The  intensity  and  yearning  of  "The  Sensitive  Plant";  the  self- 
revealment  of  "Epipsychidion,"  "Lines  Written  among  the  Euga- 
nean  Hills"  and  "Stanzas,  written  in  Dejection  near  Naples,"  to 
mention  no  others  ;  the  exquisite  sensibility  v.'hich  many  of  Shelley's 


PERCY  BYSSHE  SHELLEY 


4IO  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

lyrics  show  to  the  spirit  of  the  past,  particularly  to  the  magic  of 
ancient  Greece,  must  be  felt  by  every  lover  of  poetry. 

"Adonais,"  the  elegy  written  in  memory  of  his  friend  Keats, 
marks  the  highest  point  of  Shelley's  lyrical  power.  It  dwells  lov- 
ingly in  a  classical  atmosphere,  and  it  recalls  Milton's  noble  elegy 
"Lycidas."  Shelley  admired  the  genius  and  bewailed  the  fate  of 
his  fellow  poet,  but,  after  all,  these  circumstances  did  not  affect 
Shelley  as  deeply  as  did  the  resemblance  between  Keats  and  him- 
self and  the  foreboding  that  death  would  lay  hold  upon  him  in  his 
youth  as  it  had  claimed  Keats.  It  is  this  autobiographical  element, 
and  Shelley's  matured  philosophy  of  life  as  revealed  in  "Adonais," 
that  make  it,  in  addition  to  the  sheer  loveliness  of  the  lines,  so  at- 
tractive. Two  stanzas,  taken  from  this  masterpiece,  will  remind 
us  of  the  lyric  greatness  of  Shelley : 

"All  he  had  loved,  and  moulded  into  thought, 
From  shape,  and  hue,  and  odor,  and  sweet  sound, 
Lamented  Adonais.    Morning  sought 
Her  eastern  watch-tower,  and  her  hair  unbound, 
Wet  with  the  tears  which  should  adorn  the  ground, 
Dimmed  the  aerial  eyes  that  kindle  day ; 
Afar  the  melancholy  thunder  moaned, 
Pale  Ocean  in  unquiet  slumber  lay, 
And  the  wild  winds  flew  round,  sobbing  in  their  dismay. 

"Alas  !  that  all  we  loved  of  him  should  be, 
But  for  our  grief,  as  if  it  had  not  been, 
And  grief  itself  be  mortal !    Woe  is  me  ! 
Whence  are  we,  and  why  are  we  ?  of  what  scene 
The  actors  or  spectators?    Great  and  mean 
Meet  massed  in  death,  who  lends  what  life  must  borrow. 
As  long  as  skies  are  blue,  and^elds  are  green. 
Evening  must  usher  night,  night  urge  the  morrow, 

Month  follow  month  with  woe,  and  year  wake  year  to  sorrow." 

The  next  year  Shelley  had  followed  Keats  to  the  grave. 
Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge  (1772-1834),  the  friend  of  Words- 
worth and  his  associate  in  the  "Lyrical  Ballads,"  which  was  to 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  41 1 

mark  the  beginning  of  a  new  literary  movement,  was  a  philosopher 
and  critic  as  well  as  a  poet.  His  years  of  poetical  production  were 
indeed  very  few  in  number,  being  confined  practically  to  the  in- 
terval between  1797  and  1802.  Coleridge,  after  his  youthful  period 
of  schooling  at  Christ's  Hospital  and  his  uncompleted  college  course 
at  Cambridge,  had  married  and  settled  for  a  brief  period  in  Bristol. 
Returning,  however,  in  1797  to  his  native  region,  he  had  taken  a 
cottage  at  Nether  Stowey,  under  the  Quantock  Hills.  Presently 
there  came  to  the  neighboring  town  of  Alfoxden  William  Words- 
worth and  his  sister  Dorothy,  and  the  warm  friendship  which  the 
two  poets  felt  for  one  another  proved  of  happy  augury,  for  it  in- 
spired them  in  some  of  their  best  work.  Together  they  planned 
"Lyrical  Ballads"  (1798).  "It  was  agreed,"  Coleridge  explained 
later,  "that  my  endeavors  should  be  directed  to  persons  and  char- 
acters supernatural,  or  at  least  romantic  ;  yet  so  as  to  transfer  from 
our  inward  nature  a  human  interest  and  a  semblance  of  truth  suffi- 
cient to  procure  for  these  shadows  of  imagination  that  willing  sus- 
pension of  disbelief  for  the  moment,  which  constitutes  poetic  faith." 

"The  Ancient  Mariner"  was  Coleridge's  crowning  contribution 
to  this  momentous  volume  of  poetry.  Add  to  this  "  France,  an  Ode," 
"Christabel"  (in  its  earlier  form),  "Kubla  Khan,"  and  "Dejection, 
an  Ode,"  all  written  before  the  close  of  1802,  and  Coleridge's  poems 
of  consequence  have  all  been  named.  He  made  a  trip  to  Germany, 
which  greatly  quickened  his  philosophical  studies;  he  spent  four 
years  in  the  region  of  the  English  Lakes,  two  in  Malta  and  Italy, 
and  a  number  of  other  semi-confused  years  here  and  there,  a  victim 
of  the  opium  habit;  and  at  last,  in  1816,  he  settled  at  Highgate, 
London,  where  he  remained  until  his  death.  "Coleridge  sat  on  the 
brow  of  Highgate  Hill,"  wrote  Carlyle  in  his  "Life  of  Sterling," 
"looking  down  on  London  and  its  smoke-tumult,  like  a  sage  escaped 
from  the  inanity  of  life's  battle.  ...  He  had,  especially  among 
young  inquiring  men,  a  higher  than  literary,  a  kind  of  prophetic  or 
magician  character." 

Coleridge  had  an  emotional  and  sensitive  nature,  with  a  great 
capacity  for  friendship.  His  fondness  for  the  mystical  and  supernat- 
ural, his  interest  in  metaphysical  speculations,  his  attraction  to  old 


412  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

ballad  themes,  his  sense  of  harmony  and  melody, — all  these  things 
are  evident  in  his  poems.  "  Kubla  Khan,"  that  beautiful  and  splen- 
did though  incomplete  poem,  was  composed  in  a  dream,  quite  lit- 
erally. "Christabel,"  like  "The  Ancient  Mariner,"  is  a  weird  tale  of 
''possession."  Its  haunting  and  elusive  quality,  its  color  and  at- 
mosphere, its  pure  witchery,  are  beyond  all  praise.  "The  Ancient 
Mariner"  has  been  termed  "the  most  sustained  piece  of  imagery  in 
the  English  language."  Its  affinity  to  the  true  ballad  is  quite  ob- 
vious, but  it  transcends  the  best  of  the  English  ballads.  Coleridge's 
primary  motive  has  already  been  mentioned  above  in  his  own  words. 
The  artistry  of  the  poem  is  extraordinary,  in  particular  the  sponta- 
neous flow  of  words, — always  the  right  words,  delicate,  varied, 
dreamy,  appropriate,  slightly  archaic,  chosen  so  unerringly  for  the 
beauty  of  the  conception  and  the  beauty  of  the  vowel  sounds.  All 
seven  of  the  sections  of  this  ballad  return  to  the  theme, — the  slaying 
of  the  bird  of  good  omen  and  its  consequences, — through  the  stages 
of  penitence,  expiation,  and  a  measure  of  ultimate  freedom.  The 
crime  is  shown  as  a  transgression  of  the  fundamental  law  of  love, 
M'hich  results  in  a  fearful  separation  from  human  fellowship,  a 
separation  which  in  the  nature  of  the  case  can  never  be  wholly  re- 
trieved. There  is  a  vein  of  tenderness  and  deep  spirituality  run- 
ning through  the  poem.  It  was  Coleridge's  one  complete  and  finished 
work,  and  it  is  a  masterpiece. 

William  Wordsworth  (i 770-1850)  lived  a  long  life  of  medi- 
tation and  communion  with  nature,  which  spanned  in  the  maturity 
of  its  powers  the  entire  period  that  we  have  under  review.  There  is 
a  certain  appropriateness,  perhaps,  in  considering  him  last,  for  he 
was  a  noble  poet  of  noble  resolve,  and  in  his  inspired  moments  he 
touches  the  very  heights  of  English  poetry. 

The  outward  events  of  Wordsworth's  life  call  for  only  the  brief- 
est mention — his  education  at  Hawkshead  and  at  Cambridge,  his 
travels,  his  freedom  from  pecuniary  worries  through  a  fortunate 
legacy,  his  settling  down  to  a  life  of  the  greatest  simplicity  in  his 
native  region  of  the  English  Lakes,  and  his  death  at  Rydal  iMount, 
April  23,  1850,  after  he  had  been  for  seven  years  poet  laureate  of 
England.   With  great  fullness  and  particularity  Wordsworth  tells 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE 


413 


us*  of  the  inward  events  of  these  long  years — of  the  spell  that  na- 
ture held  over  him  even  in  his  childhood,  of  the  influence  of  books 
and  men  in  his  college  days,  of  his  republican  sympathies  (giving 
way  to  doubt  and  disillusionment  in  view  of  the  later  developments 
of  the  French  Revolution),  of  his  growing  passion  for  the  grand  and 
inspiring  aspects  of  na- 
ture and  his  growing  be^- 
lief  that  nature  teaches 
man  to  feel  and  to  think 
deeply,  of  his  love  for  man 
as  the  Urect  outcome  of 
his  love  of  nature,  of  his 
conceptions  of  art  and 
poetry,  and  of  his  convic- 
tion that  through  poetry 
man  will  find  his  closest 
relationship  with  God. 

In  the  consideration  of 
the  poetry  of  Wordsworth 
it  must  be  admitted  at 
the  outset  that  it  has 
very  unequal  value — the 
reader  has  many  dull  mo- 
ments, realizing  that  the 
words  and  reflections  are 
alike  prosy  and  that  the 

poetry  is  uninspired.  The  moral  obtrudes  itself  too  frequently. 
This  much  may  be  conceded.  Yet  our  debt  to  Wordsworth  is  so 
profound  that  unfavorable  criticism  is  trivial  indeed.  No  poet  is 
always  at  his  best ;  and  the  poets  who  have  left  so  rich  a  legacy 
as  Wordsworth  are  very  few.  A  volume  of  selections,  like  that 
prepared  with  such  rare  judgment  by  Matthew  Arnold,  gives  us 
the  essential  Wordsworth — a  wise  poet  who  saw  into  the  heart  of 
things  and  who  expressed  himself  with  simple  dignity  and  sincerity 
and  beauty  and  understanding.   These  poems,  as  he  himself  said 

iSee  especially  "The  Prelude." 


WILLIAM   WORDSWORTH 


414  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

truly,  "will  cooperate  with  the  benign  tendencies  in  human  nature 
and  society,  and  will,  in  their  degree,  be  efficacious  in  making  men 
wiser,  better,  and  happier." 

Wordsworth  frequently  laid  down  the  principles  of  his  poetic 
creed.  The  language  suited  to  verse,  he  tells  us,  is  "a  selection  of 
the  real  language  of  men  in  a  state  of  vivid  sensation."  Referring 
to  his  contributions  to  "Lyrical  Ballads"  he  says,  "Low  and  rustic 
life  was  generally  chosen  because  in  that  situation  the  essential  pas- 
sions of  the  heart  find  a  better  soil  in  which  they  can  attain  their 
maturity,  are  less  under  restraint,  and  speak  a  plainer  and  more 
emphatic  language."  Thus  in  his  ballads  and  shorter  poems  he  used 
plain  and  common  words  deliberately,  feeling  that  the  poetic  idea 
would  make  the  words  significant.  He  observed  natural  things  with 
a  deep  and  particular  interest.  The  humble  as  well  as  the  grand 
aspects  of  the  natural  world  appealed  to  him.  His  thought  was 
sometimes  profound,  but  his  power  consists  commonly  in  his  depth 
of  feeling  and  instinctive  perception.  His  imaginative  atmosphere 
is  very  different  from  that  of  Keats  and  Shelley,  yet  it  is  none  the 
less  real.  At  the  basis  of  his  philosophy  is  the  belief  in  the  intimate 
relationship  of  external  nature  with  the  spirit  of  God. 

It  is  quite  impossible,  of  course,  to  enumerate  in  this  place  more 
than  a  very  few  of  Wordsworth's  poems.  "The  Excursion"  and 
"The  Prelude,"  poems  of  considerable  length,  though  not  to  be 
classed  with  his  best,  contain  passages  that  are  of  great  worth  in 
estimating  his  theories  of  life  and  ajt.  Among  his  narrative  poems 
"Ruth,"  "The  Brothers,"  and  particularly  "Michael"  and  "The 
Leech-Gatherer"  reveal  his  singular  power  in  depicting  simple 
pathos,  old  age,  poverty,  endurance.  The  very  titles  of  his  lyrical 
poems  bring  back  a  flood  of  memory  to  every  lover  of  Wordsworth : 
"She  was  a  Phantom  of  Delight,"  "My  Heart  Leaps  up,"  "She 
Dwelt  among  the  Untrodden  Ways,"  "I  Wandered  Lonely  as  a 
Cloud,"  and  a  host  of  others.  Who  is  not  inspired  by  such  noble 
poems  as  the  "Character  of  the  Happy  Warrior,"  the  "Ode  to 
Duty,"  or  the  "Ode on  Intimations  of  Immortality"? 

"Our  birth  is  but  a  sleep  and  a  forgetting : 
The  Soul  that  rises  with  us,  our  life's  Star, 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  415 

Hath  had  elsewhere  its  setting, 

And  Cometh  from  afar : 
Not  in  entire  forgetfulness 
And  not  in  utter  nakedness, 
But  trailing  clouds  of  glory  do  we  come 
From  God,  who  is  our  home." 

In  his  use  of  the  sonnet  Wordsworth  was  peculiarly  happy,  follow- 
ing by  clear  right  in  the  succession  of  Shakespeare,  Milton,  and 
Keats.  The  sonnet  commencing  "The  world  is  too  much  with  us," 
the  one  composed  upon  Westminster  Bridge,  and  that  other  com- 
posed upon  the  beach  near  Calais,  "It  is  a  beauteous  evening, 
calm  and  free,"  are  scarcely  surpassed  in  our  language.  Among 
Wordsworth's  reflective  poems  "Animal  Tranquillity  and  Decay," 
"The  Old  Cumberland  Beggar,"  and  "Lines  Composed  a  Few 
INIiles  above  Tintern  Abbey"  seem  to  stand  out  preeminent.  Surely 
the  last  takes  us  into  the  secret  places  of  the  poet's  life  and  thought : 

"I  have  felt 
A  presence  that  disturbs  me  with  the  joy 
Of  elevated  thoughts  :  a  sense  subHme 
Of  something  far  more  deeply  interfused, 
Whose  dwelling  is  the  light  of  setting  suns, 
And  the  round  ocean  and  the  living  air. 
And  the  blue  sky,  and  in  the  mind  of  man." 

Other  names  of  consequence  appear  in  the  list  of  English  Roman- 
tic poets:  Southey,  Landor  (whose  "Gebir"  and  "Hellenics,"  for 
example,  are  most  attractive),  and  Sir  Walter  Scott,  to  speak  of 
no  others. 

The  Prose  of  Romanticism 

The  early  nineteenth  century  is  remembered  for  critics  like  Jef- 
frey and  Christopher  North  and  Lockhart ;  for  the  substantial  prose 
of  Southey  and  Landor,  notably  "The  Life  of  Nelson"  and  "The 
Doctor"  of  the  former  and  "Imaginary  Conversations"  of  the  lat- 
ter; for  a  great  deal  that  is  excellent  in  the  work  of  that  erratic 
genius  Leigh  Hunt ;  for  the  lovable  and  informing  diarist  Henry 


41 6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Crabb  Robinson ;  and  many  another  author  and  work.  We  must 
concern  ourselves  here,  however,  with  the  outstanding  representa- 
tives of  the  novel  and  the  essay. 

Sir  Walter  Scott  (1771-1832)  stands  incontestably  as  one  of 
the  chief  of  British  novelists.  His  fame  as  a  poet  is  much  less  se- 
cure, though  his  romantic  narrative  poems  and  lays  are  vividly 
written,  move  swiftly,  and  possess  sustained  interest.  If  "The  Lady 
of  the  Lake"  and  "Marmion"  are  not  highly  imaginative,  they 
carry  with  them  a  fine  spirit  of  life  and  manliness  and  adventure. 

Scott  was  born  in  Edinburgh  and  numbered  among  his  ancestors 
a  line  of  border  chieftains.  He  was  romantic  by  temperament,  a 
voracious  reader,  a  lover  of  history  and  ballad  and  legend.  At 
twenty-one  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  for  fourteen  years  he 
followed  the  legal  profession,  though  not  whole-heartedly.  ''Half- 
lawyer,  half-sportsman"  he  described  himself.  At  thirty-one  he 
seemed  to  have  found  his  vocation  as  a  poet,  and  he  enjoyed  for 
years  the  greatest  popularity  in  the  field  of  the  metrical  romance. 
With  the  rise  of  Byron's  star  he  had  the  good  sense  to  see  that  he 
was  outclassed,  and  at  the  age  of  forty-three  he  found  his  true  place, 
as  a  writer  of  the  historical  romance.  He  had  already  established 
himself  on  his  splendid  estate  at  Abbotsford,  and  there  he  lived 
among  his  friends  and  retainers  until  his  death.  His  last  years 
witnessed  his  heroic  struggle  to  pay  off  a  huge  indebtedness,  con- 
tracted through  no  fault  of  his  own. 

Our  narrative  has  already  mentioned  the  early  beginnings  of  the 
English  novel.  At  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Radcliffian 
novel  of  suspense  had  a  temporary  popularity.  Jane  Austen  (1775- 
181 7)  was  the  representative  of  the  novel  of  manners  which  fol- 
lowed, and  her  "Pride  and  Prejudice,"  "Sense  and  Sensibility,"  and 
other  tales  have  a  sure  audience  to  this  day.  The  novel  of  suspense 
was  more  closely  allied  to  the  spirit  of  the  age  and  led  more  nat- 
urally to  the  romances  of  Scott. 

These  romances  number  thirty-one,  four  of  which  are  brief.  Scott 
wrote  the  first  group,  of  nine,  including  "  Guy  Mannering  "  and  "  The 
Heart  of  Midlothian,"  two  of  his  finest  novels,  in  a  careful  and 
leisurely  fashion,  laying  their  scenes  in  Scotland  with  occasional  in- 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  417 

cidents  in  England  and  treating  of  history  comparatively  close  to  his 
own  day.  The  next  group,  of  thirteen  (1820-1825),  showed  more 
haste.  Commencing  with  "Ivanhoe,"  Scott  attempted  in  this  group 
to  present  an  earlier  period,  and  he  painted  the  romantic  scenes  of 
the  Middle  Ages  with  all  the  pageantry  that  appealed  so  strongly  to 
his  nature.  England  is  generally  the  setting  of  these  tales,  and  oc- 
casionally the  period  is  ^as  late  as  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries.  " Kenilworth,"  "The  Fortunes  of  Nigel," ''  Redgauntlet," 
and  ''The  Talisman"  belong  to  this  series.  The  last  group  of  his 
novels  (1826-1831),  written  under  pressure  and  with  declining 
physical  vigor,  are  of  less  consequence.^ 

Scott  in  his  novels  depends  more  on  the  narrative  than  on  charac- 
ter development  or  psychology.  He  has  all  the  instincts  of  the  popu- 
lar historian — vividness,  reality,  definiteness  of  detail.  Hazlitt  says 
truly:  "The  manners,  the  personages,  the  events,  the  scenery,  live 
over  again  in  his  volumes.  Nothing  is  wanting,  the  illusion  is  com- 
plete." Scott  is  especially  happy  in  his  pictures  of  chivalry  and 
feudalism  and  in  his  use  of  the  supernatural.  All  his  immense  knowl- 
edge of  the  past  was  laid  under  tribute.  His  historical  errors  are 
inconsiderable  in  number.  He  had  a  natural  open-mindedness  and 
good  humor.  Soul  struggles  and  dark  villainies  of  character  are  not 
his  common  elements,  nor  does  he  have  a  fine  understanding  of  peo- 
ple of  all  classes.  He  transports  us  to  a  world  of  romance,  where 
there  are  action  and  color  and  movement  and  the  clashing  of  swords. 

Thomas  de  Quincey  (i 785-1859),  one  of  the  chief  of  English 
prose  writers,  lived  a  solitary,  hermitlike  life.  For  many  years  he 
had  no  settled  habitation,  but  in  1808  became  Wordsworth's  neigh- 
bor at  Grasmere.  Here  he  lived,  with  interruptions,  for  thirty  years, 
residing  later  at  Edinburgh.  He  supported  himself  chiefly  by  mag- 
azine writing,  but  his  literary  production  was  greatly  broken  into 
by  his  addiction  to  the  opium  habit.  De  Quincey  was  the  friend  of 
Wordsworth,  Coleridge,  and  Lamb.  He  was  shy,  but  a  good  talker, 
and  he  possessed  a  fund  of  humor,  keen  intellectual  power,  and  in- 
sight.   In  his  prose  writing  he  sought  partly  to  amuse,  partly  to  im- 

^Sce  Professor  Elton's  very  complete  study  in  his  "History  of  English 
Literature,  1 780-1880,"  Vol.  I. 


41 8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

prove,  but  mostly  to  appeal  to  the  artistic  sense  of  his  readers  by 
means  of  rhythmical,  impassioned,  and  gorgeous  prose,  full  of  word 
painting  and  with  a  melody  almost  equal  to  that  of  poetry. 

De  Quincey's  chief  work  is  a  discursive  autobiography,  ''The 
Confessions  of  an  English  Opi urn-Eater."  To  this  should  be  added 
a  number  of  choice  and  ornate  essays  on  various  themes.  Though 
his  sentences  are  frequently  overelaborate  and  involved,  a  study  of 
his  prose  style — abounding  with  exact  similes  and  comparisons, 
elevated  and  even  sublime  ideas,  and  flashes  of  pathos  and  humor 
— is  a  rewarding  experience. 

Charles  Lamb  and  his  friends.  The  name  of  Charles  Lamb 
( 1 775-1834)  is  one  of  the  best  beloved  in  English  letters.  A  whole 
literature,  and  this  of  a  most  intimate  sort,  is  now  concerned  with 
him  and  his  friends.  His  entire  life  was  spent  in  and  about  the 
city  of  London,  which  he  loved  passionately  and  celebrated  el- 
oquently. For  thirty-three  years  he  was  clerk  in  the  East  India 
House;  from  this  service  he  was  pensioned  in  1825.  His  sister, 
Mary  Lamb,  whose  character  was  scarcely  less  lovable  than  his 
own,  was  his  constant  companion  and  charge.  The  circumstance 
that  all  her  life  she  was  subject  to  recurring  periods  of  insanity,  in 
one  of  which  (1796)  she  took  the  life  of  her  mother,  gives  a  note  of 
peculiar  pathos  to  their  joint  experiences. 

Lamb's  early  writings  consisted  of  verse,  fiction,  drama,  and 
essay.  Not,  however,  until  about  1807  did  his  real  power  disclose 
itself.  Then  the  master  appeared,  and  a  new  prose,  a  new  criticism, 
and  a  subtle  humor  of  the  most  exquisite  kind  began  to  grace  Eng- 
lish letters.  The  full  flowering  of  his  genius  is  seen  in  a  slender 
body  of  essays,  "The  Essays  of  Elia."  These  began  to  appear  in 
1820,  and  the  first  series,  of  twenty-eight,  were  collected  in  1823, 
followed  by  twenty-four  "Last  Essays  of  Elia,"  collected  ten  years 
later,  just  before  his  death.  A  few  choice  and  intimate  lyrics  and 
sonnets ;  a  few  volumes  of  which  his  sister  was  part  author ;  and  a 
book  of  specimens  of  Elizabethan  drama,  with  penetrating  and  orig- 
inal critical  notes,  should  also  be  mentioned.  Charles  Lamb's  legacy 
to  us  consists  primarily,  however,  in  his  essays  and  in  the  collec- 
tion of  his  personal  letters  made  subsequent  to  his  death. 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE 


419 


If  it  chances  that  any  reader  of  these  pages  has  not  yet  come  to 
know  the  gentle  Elia,  let  us  suggest  the  following  essays  for  his  in- 
troduction: -'The  Old  Benchers,"  ''Christ's  Hospital,"  "My  Re- 
lations," ''  Mackery  End,"  and  "The  Superannuated  Man  "  for  their 
autobiographical  elements;  ''A  Chapter  on  Ears,"  "A  Quakers' 
Meeting,"  and  "The  Old 
and  the  New  Schoolmas- 
ter" for  a  good  glimpse  of 
Lamb 'spersonal  attractions 
and  his  antipathies ;  "  Mrs, 
Battle'sOpinionson  Whist " 
and  "A  Dissertation  upon 
Roast  Pig"  for  his  whim- 
sical and  delicate  humor; 
and  "New  Year's  Eve," 
"Old  China,"  and  "Dream 
Children"  for  their  vein 
of  subtle  reminiscence  and 
tender  retrospect. 

Lamb's  style  is  full  of 
grace  and  beauty,  with  a 
touch  of  antiquity  in  dic- 
tion and  vocabulary.  His 
judgments  are  always  his 
own.    His   loves    included 

old  books,^  old  customs,  old  dwellings,  "old  familiar  faces,"  the 
sights  of  city  streets,  the  memories  of  bygone  days. 

"Sun,  and  sky,  and  breeze,  and  solitary  walks,  and  summer  holidays, 
and  the  greenness  of  fields,  and  the  delicious  juices  of  meats  and  fishes, 
and  society,  and  the  cheerful  glass,  and  candle-light,  and  fireside  con- 
versations, and  innocent  vanities,  and  jests,  and  irofiy  itself — do  these 
things  go  out  with  life? 

"Can  a  ghost  laugh,  or  shake  his  gaunt  sides,  when  you  are  pleasant 
with  him? 


CHARLES  LAMB 


i"How  natural  it  was  to  C.  L."  said  Leigh  Hunt,  "to  give  a  kiss  to  an 
old  folio,  as  I  once  saw  him  do  to  Chapman's  'Homer.'" 


420  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"And  you,  my  midnight  darlings,  my  Folios!  must  I  part  with  the 
intense  delight  of  having  you  (huge  armfuls)  in  my  embraces?  Must 
knowledge  come  to  me,  if  it  come  at  all,  by  some  awkward  experiment 
of  intuition,  and  no  longer  by  this  familiar  process  of  reading? 

"Shall  I  enjoy  friendships  there,  wanting  the  smiling  indications 
which  point  me  to  them  here,— the  recognizable  face — the  'sweet 
assurance  of  a  look'?" 

Lamb's  friends  included  among  many  others  Barry  Cornwall  and 
Talfourd,  who  have  left  us  so  delightful  a  picture  of  him ;  and  Hay- 
don  the  painter ;  and  Coleridge  and  Hazlitt.  Coleridge  had  a  deep 
affection  for  Charles  and  IMary  Lamb.  "Dear  to  my  heart,  yea,  as 
it  were,  my  heart,'"  he  had  said  of  them ;  and  his  visits  to  their 
home  were  not  soon  forgotten.  For  Coleridge  was  a  great  man.  No 
such  talker  as  Coleridge  had  been  known  in  England  since  John- 
son's day.  His  prose  writings,  the  best  of  which  are  included  in 
"Biographia  Literaria,"  are  incomplete,  but  they  contain  magnifi- 
cent fragments  of  thought  and  criticism.  The  finest  of  his  critical 
opinions  centered  in  Shakespeare.  William  Hazlitt  (i 778-1830) 
will  always  be  associated  with  Lamb's  circle  of  friends.  He  is  one 
of  the  best  of  English  critics  on  literary  subjects,  on  the  drama, 
and  on  painting.  Like  Lamb  he  excels  in  the  familiar  essay.  His 
style  is  easy  and  simple,  interspersed  with  quotations.  His  essays 
"On  Going  a  Journey,"  "On  Reading  Old  Books,"  "On  Living  to 
One's  Self,''  "On  Persons  One  would  Wish  to  have  Seen,"  "On  the 
Feeling  of  Immortality  in  Youth,"  are  among  the  most  delightful 
in  our  literature. 

The  Victorian  Age 

The  years  of  Victoria's  reign  (183  7-1 901)  conveniently  mark 
the  limits  of  this  period.  In  the  history  of  politics  and  democracy 
the  era  begins  more  exactly  with  1832,  the  year  of  the  Reform  Bill. 
In  literature  poetry  now  became  less  significant  than  prose,  and  the 
prose  constantly  reflected  the  pressing  problems  of  Victorian  Eng- 
land. The  scientific  and  philosophical  impulse  given  by  men  like 
Darwin.  Huxley,  IMill,  and  Spencer  also  greatly  influenced  the 
thought  of  the  age. 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  421 

It  has  become  in  our  day  the  fashion  in  some  quarters  to  speak 
scornfully  of  Victorian  literature  as  exhibiting  hopelessly  common- 
place and  middle-class  ideas, — timidity,  prudery,  pretense,  re- 
spectability, conventional  religion, — all  now  as  old-fashioned  as 
Victorian  furniture  and  the  dresses  of  the  queen  herself.  There  is 
a  measure  of  truth  in  this,  but  even  a  slight  analysis  will  show  that 
the  age  was  preaching  at  and  criticizing  itself  uninterruptedly,  in 
the  vigorous  and  pointed  exhortations  of  such  men  as  Carlyle,  Rus- 
kin,  Thackeray,  and  William  IMorris ;  that  it  was  keenly  interested 
in  social  reform,  as  evidenced  by  novels  like  ''Alton  Locke"  and 
''Nicholas  Nickleby"  and  poems  like  ]\Irs.  Browning's  "The  Cry 
of  the  Children" ;  and  that  in  the  fields  of  philosophy  and  religion 
its  ideas,  set  forth  by  spokesmen  who  secured  a  national  hearing, 
ranged  all  the  way  from  ardent  faith  to  frank  rationalism.  It  was, 
in  fact,  a  robust  intellectual  era,  and  its  force  is  not  yet  spent. 

Masters  of  Victorian  Prose 

Thomas  Babington  Macaulay  (1800-1859)  is  remembered  as  a 
man  for  his  courage,  honesty,  frankness,  optimism,  and  tolerance. 
He  was  a  wide  reader  in  many  fields  and  possessed  a  prodigious 
memory  and  solid  intellectual  gifts.  As  a  parliamentarian  he  had 
great  rhetorical  power.  His  writings  exhibit  honest  workmanship 
and  real  substance,  though  they  are  somewhat  deficient  in  reflec- 
tion, imagination,  and  delicacy  of  perception.  IVIacaulay's  style 
was  deliberately  and  carefully  formed.  It  is  energetic  and  orator- 
ical, wonderfully  clear,  and  enlivened  by  figures  of  speech  and  by 
its  constant  allusions.  Macaulay  has  earned  a  substantial  place  in 
literature  through  the  best  of  his  literary  and  historical  essays 
("Milton,"  "Addison,"  "Clive,"  "Hastings,"  and  a  number  of 
others),  through  his  vigorous  and  sometimes  brilliant  "Lays  of  An- 
cient Rome,"  but  most  of  all  through  his  "History  of  England  from 
the  Accession  of  James  IT."  It  is  in  his  quality  as  a  historian  that 
his  reputation  chiefly  resides. 

The  historians  of  England  during  the  century  include  other  names 
of  such  distinction  as  Merivale,  Grote,  Milman,  Freeman,  Hallam, 
Green,  Gardiner,  Froude,  Lecky,  and  Lord  Acton. 


422  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Thomas  Carlyle  (1795-1881),  son  of  a  Scottish  stonemason, 
was  born  at  Ecclefechan  in  Dumfriesshire,  received  his  education  in 
the  neigliboring  town  of  Annan  and  at  Edinburgh  University,  be- 
came teacher  and  tutor  for  a  short  time,  and  then  devoted  himself 
to  literature,  living  in  Scotland  until  1834  and  thereafter  in  London, 
where  his  house  in  Cheyne  Row,  Chelsea,  is  now  a  Carlyle  museum. 
The  influences  that  shaped  his  life  and  thought  were  various :  the 
rugged  sincerity  of  his  father  and  the  loving  devotion  of  his  mother ; 
the  friendship  during  his  youth  of  Edward  Irving  and  during  his 
manhood  of  Goethe  and  Emerson  and  many  another;  the  natural 
trend  of  his  studies — in  the  field  of  German  literature  at  its  greatest 
period,  for  example,  and  more  especially  in  the  attention  he  gave 
instinctively  to  men  of  power,  like  Dante,  Cromwell,  and  Frederick 
the  Great,  He  devoted  himself  to  his  studies  with  a  sort  of  fierce 
energy  of  preoccupation  that  brooked  no  interference.  After  the 
death  of  his  wife,  Jane  Welsh  Carlyle,  in  1866,  he  felt  that  he 
had  perhaps  been  neglectful  of  her ;  but  his  love  had  really  been 
honest  and  sincere  and  had  suffered  no  break.  His  biographer 
Froude,  with  characteristic  untrustworthiness,  has  given  the  world 
a  false  picture  of  the  married  life  of  these  two  famous  people 
of  genius. 

Carlyle,  the  apostle  of  silence,  was  one  of  the  most  voluminous  of 
authors.  He  wrote  for  almost  a  half-century,  and  the  range  as  well 
as  the  mass  of  his  writings  is  extraordinary.  His  earlier  essays,  con- 
tributed to  the  magazines,  were  mainly  on  literary  subjects,  show- 
ing in  style  and  subject  the  influence  of  German  thought.  On  the 
lonely  farm  of  Craigenputtoch  his  most  characteristic  work,  "Sartor 
Resartus,"  an  amorphous  spiritual  biography,  was  slowly  fashioned, 
and  this  (appearing  first  in  periodical  and  then,  in  1838,  in  book 
form)  proclaimed  him  as  a  strikingly  original  force  in  literature.  His 
early  years  in  London  were  devoted  to  "The  French  Revolution,"  a 
historical  work  of  a  new  order,  all  molten  fire  and  energy,  though, 
as  it  now  appears,  lacking  in  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  basic 
idea  of  the  Revolution.  In  183  7-1 83  9  he  gave  three  series  of  pub- 
lic lectures.  "Heroes  and  Hero-Worship"  (i 841),  the  printed  form 
of  the  last  series,  has  always  been  a  favorite  and  is  certainly  one  of 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE 


423 


the  most  quickening  and  suggestive  of  books.  ''Past  and  Present" 
(1843)  displays  Carlyle's  native  distaste  for  the  injustices  of  the 
industrial  system  of  his  own  generation  and  his  fondness  for  the 
best  things  of  the  past.  With  the  publication  of  his  next  book, 
"Oliver  Cromwell's  Letters  and  Speeches,"  dates  the  newer  and 
better  understanding  in  England  of  the  great  Protector.  Carlyle's 
labors  for  a  number  of  years  were  bestowed  upon  the  ''History  of 
Frederick  the  Great"  (published 
in  1 858-1 865),  It  was  his  last 
important  work,  though  the  subse- 
quent publication  of  his  "Reminis- 
cences" and  several  volumes  of  his 
letters,  including  his  letters  to 
Emerson,  have  added  much  to  our 
understanding  of  him  as  a  man  and 
as  a  thinker. 

While  we  must  consider  Carlyle 
as  the  chief  figure  in  English  letters 
in  Victorian  England  and  one  of  the 
greatest  of  English  prose  masters, 
this  does  not  mean  that  his  style  is 
faultless.  It  has  many  mannerisms, 
irregularities,  and  repetitions.    At 

its  worst  it  is  crabbed  and  strident.  Carlyle  had  deep-seated  preju- 
dices (for  example,  he  had  no  sympathy  with  the  democratic  tend- 
encies of  the  day)  and  he  vented  his  opinions  in  tirades  of  petulance 
and  scolding.  This  much  may  be  allowed  ;  but  much  remains  to  be 
said.  Carlyle  has  a  marvelous  command  of  words,  a  dramatic  energy 
and  intensity,  a  wealth  of  illustration.  He  has  tenderness  and  humor, 
loftiness,  originality,  imagination,  a  blazing  scorn  for  weakness  and 
evil.  Carlyle  is  also  to  this  day  a  great  moral  force,  because  of  his 
emphasis  on  spiritual  values,  on  realities  as  over  against  appearances, 
on  reverence  and  duty,  the  duty  of  work  and  obedience  and  sin- 
cerity and  truth.  "The  Situation,"  says  Carlyle,  "that  has  not  its 
Duty,  its  Ideal,  was  never  yet  occupied  by  man.  Yes,  here,  in  this 
poor,  miserable,  hampered,  despicable  Actual,  wherein  thou  even 


THOMAS  CARLYLE 


424  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

now  standest,  here  or  nowhere  is  thy  Ideal :   work  it  out  there- 
from; and  working,  believe,  live,  be  free." 

.  It  is  a  great  experience  to  follow  Carlyle  through  the  best  of  his 
essays,  the  splendidly  dramatic  passages  in  ''The  French  Revolu- 
tion," the  lectures  on  heroes,  the  greater  part  of "  Past  and  Present" ; 
most  of  all,  through  "Sartor  Resartus,"- with  its  universal  quality 
and  its  analysis  of  the  inner  struggles  of  man's  soul,  rising  from 
manifold  despair  and  doubt  to  moral  victory, 

John  Ruskin  (i  819- 1900),  like  Carlyle  a  master  of  wonderfully 
eloquent  prose  and  a  prophet  to  his  generation,  was  brought  up  in 
an  atmosphere  of  culture  and  refinement  and  given  every  oppor- 
tunity of  travel  in  France,  Switzerland,  and  Italy.  He  was  nurtured 
on  the  English  Bible,  the  vocabulary  and  melody  and  cadence  of 
which  he  made  the  characteristic  feature  of  his  style.  During  his 
entire  life  he  labored  as  a  reformer  of  art  and  life.  His  native  good- 
ness and  unselfishness,  his  devotion  to  the  ideal  of  beauty  and  right- 
eousness, and  his  profound  sense  of  man's  needs  endear  him  to  us, 
though  the  dogmatism  of  his  teaching  somewhat  tempers  our  en- 
thusiasm. Ruskin  was  a  sensitive  and  reserved  man  who,  with  all 
his  endowments  and  rich  experiences,  suffered  greatly  in  spirit. 
His  last  years  were  spent  in  retirement  at  Brantwood,  in  the 
English  Lake  region. 

Until  i860  his  writings  set  forth  his  principles  of  art  in  those 
ever-memorable  volumes  ''The  Seven  Lamps  of  Architecture" 
(1849)  and  "The  Stones  of  Venice"  (1851-1853)  and  in  "Mod- 
ern Painters,"  the  first  volume  of  which  appeared  in  1843  as  a  docu- 
ment to  prove  the  superiority  of  Turner  over  other  landscape  artists, 
and  which  was  continued  in  successive  volumes  (1846,  1856,  i860) 
as  a  general  study  of  art.  Two  things  stand  out  prominently  in  all 
of  these  works — Ruskin 's  deep  sense  of  the  relationship  of  art  to 
ethics,  and  his  surpassing  power  as  a  literary  artist.  The  "seven 
lamps"  are  Sacrifice,  Truth,  :\Iemory,  Beauty,  Power,  Life,  and 
Obedience.  In  his  prose  style  Ruskin  shows  a  genius  for  exposition, 
an  ease  and  grace  of  manner,  a  splendor  of  idea,  and  a  harmony  and 
sense  of  rhythm  almost  unparalleled.  He  thus  describes  the  peas- 
ants of  the  Valais  in  his  chapter  on  "Mountain  Gloom" : 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE 


425 


"They  do  not  understand  so  much  as  the  name  of  beauty,  or  of 
knowledge.  They  understand  dimly  that  of  virtue.  Love,  patience,  hos- 
pitality, faith, —  these  things  they  know.  To  glean  their  meadows  side 
by  side,  so  happier ;  to  bear  the  burden  up  the  breathless  mountain 
flank  unmurmuringly;  to 
bid  the  stranger  drink  from 
their  vessel  of  milk;  to  see 
at  the  foot  of  their  low 
death-beds  a  pale  figure 
upon  a  cross,  dying,  also 
patiently; — in  this  they 
are  different  from  the  cat- 
tle and  from  the  stones; 
but,  in  all  this,  unrewarded, 
so  far  as  concerns  this  pres- 
ent life.  For  them,  there 
is  neither  hope  nor  passion 
of  spirit;  for  them,  nei- 
ther advance  nor  exulta- 
tion. Black  bread,  rude 
roof,  dark  night,  laborious 
day,  weary  arm  at  sunset; 
and  life  ebbs  away." 

Ruskin's  personal  his- 
tory may  be  gleaned 
from 'Traeterita"(  1887- 
1888),  a  retrospective 
book  of  rare  interest,  and 
from  "Fors  Clavigera" 
(1871-1884),  a  series  of  letters  to  workingmen ;  his  ideas  on  edu- 
cation and  literature  from  "Sesame  and  Lilies"  (1865)  ;  and  his 
economic  and  social  theories  from  "Unto  This  Last"  (1862), 
"The  Crown  of  Wild  Olive"  (1866),  and  other  writings.  In 
everything  that  he  wrote  he  revealed  the  artist  and  the  reformer, 
and  his  later  years  were  almost  wholly  devoted  to  a  continuous 
protest  against  the  industrial  evils  of  his  day. 

John  Henry  Newman  (1801-1890),  another  delicate  artist  in 
English  prose,  was  born  in  London,  was  appointed  Fellow  of  Oriel 


JOHN   RUSKIN 


426  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

College,  Oxford,  in  1822,  became  the  chief  exponent  of  the  so-called 
"Oxford  Movement"  toward  High  Church  principles  (1832-1841), 
joined  the  Church  of  Rome  (1845),  and  became  cardinal  in  1879. 
His  deeply  religious  nature  stamps  all  his  work.  Intellectual,  orig- 
inal, sweet  and  gentle,  and  at  the  same  time  zealous  and  argumen- 
tative, above  all  a  strong  spiritual  force  and  a  master  of  the  English 
tongue,  Newman  will  long  be  remembered.  He  captivates  the  at- 
tention of  his  readers  as  he  did  that  of  the  audiences  which  he  ad- 
dressed. His  style  is  simple  and  direct,  sometimes  satirical  and 
humorous,  and  frequently  impassioned  and  lofty  to  a  degree.  The 
"Apologia  Pro  Vita  Sua,"  "The  Idea  of  a  University,"  and  the 
verses  and  hymns  of  Newman  give  us,  on  the  whole,  our  most  vivid 
impression  of  him. 

Matthew  Arnold  (1822-1888),  the  son  of  Thomas  Arnold,  the 
famous  headmaster  of  Rugby,  ranks  as  a  critic  with  the  best  that 
England  has  known.  His  place  as  a  poet  is  also  a  distinguished  one. 
Few  poets  of  his  age  produced  poems  of  a  finer  lyric  and  narra- 
tive quahty  than  Arnold's  "The  Scholar  Gypsy,"  "Thyrsis,"  "The 
Future,"  "Dover  Beach,"  "Sohrab  and  Rustum,"  and  the  sonnet  on 
Shakespeare.  In  his  criticism  Arnold  shows  a  splendid  cosmopolitan 
taste — his  work  covers  all  departments  and  all  periods  of  literature. 
His  literary  discernment  is  remarkable,  and  his  judgments  are  gen- 
erally sound,  with  occasional  lapses  in  dealing  with  some  of  the  men 
of  the  Romantic  period  and  of  his  own  generation.  "The  best  which 
has  been  thought  and  said  in  the  world  "  was  what  concerned  him  in 
his  criticism.  He  made  famous  such  expressions  as  "sweetness  and 
light,"  "poetry  is  a  criticism 'of  life,"  "religion  is  m.orality  touched 
with  emotion,"  "God  is  a  power  not  ourselves  that  makes  for 
righteousness."  Arnold  had  special  affinity  with  Dante  and  with 
the  Greeks,  and  his  lectures  "On  Translating  Homer"  contain  some 
of  his  choicest  thoughts.  None  of  his  books  is  lacking  in  rich 
material,  but  the  two  volumes  of  "Essays  in  Criticism"  are  at! 
the  high-water  mark.  English  culture  is  here  seen  at  its  deepest 
and  finest. 

We  might  well  step  a  little  further  afield,  for  the  Victorian  Age 
was  a  time  of  unexampled  production  in  English  prose  and  we  have 


ENGLISH  LITER„\TURE 


427 


named  only  a  few  of  the  chief  writers.  In  addition,  Walter  Pater, 
Edward  Dowden,  Walter  Bagehot,  R.  H.  Hutton,  J.  A.  Symonds, 
Andrew  Lang,  Leslie  Stephen,  John  Stuart  Mill,  Thomas  Huxley, 
and  others  made  substantial  contributions  to  the  volume  of  prose 
in  the  fields  of  criticism,  biography,  and  science.  The  English  prose 
fiction  of  the  period  is  reserved  for  treatment  a  little  later. 


Victorian  Poets 

Alfred,  Lord  Tennyson  (i 809-1 892)  was  termed  in  his  day 
"the  poet "  and  enjoyed  an  almost  unexampled  popularity.  He  was 
one  of  twelve  children  of 


a  Lincolnshire  rector.  His 
first  poems  were  published 
before  he  entered  Cam- 
bridge. The  1832  volume, 
containing  "(Enone,"  "A 
Dream  of  Fair  Women," 
and  the  first  form  of  "The 
Lotos-Eaters"  and  "The 
Lady  of  Shalott,"  showed 
abundant  power  and  mel- 
ody. But  his  national  fame 
was  established  through 
the  publication  in  1842 
of  his  second  important 
volume,  with  the  im- 
mortal "Ulysses,"  the 
touching  elegiac  poem 
"Break,  Break,  Break," 
and  "Morte  d'Arthur"; 

through  "The  Princess:  a  Medley,"  the  poetical  tale  published 
in  1847;  and  chiefly  through  that  great  and  noble  elegy  "In 
Memoriam,"  which  appeared  in  1850,  the  year  of  his  marriage 
and  of  his  appointment  to  the  laureateship.  His  later  distinc- 
tive poems   and  popular  successes — "Maud,"  "Enoch   Arden," 


ALFRED   TENNYSON 


42  8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"Idylls  of  the  King,"  and  his  stirring  patriotic  verses,  like  "The 
Defence  of  Lucknow,"  the  "Ode  on  Wellington/'  and  "The  Charge 
of  the  Light  Brigade" — were  yet  to  appear.  Tennyson's  home 
after  1853  was  at  Farringford  (Isle  of  Wight)  and  at  Aldworth 
(Surrey).  His  poetic  powers  were  unimpaired  even  in  his  later 
years;  such  poems  as  "Tiresias,"  "Demeter,"  and  "Crossing  the 
Bar"  bear  witness  to  this. 

Tennyson's  entire  life  was  dedicated  to  the  writing  of  poetry. 
Since  the  Elizabethan  Age  no  one  had  brought  into  service  so  many 
poetic  forms.  Tennyson  was  clearly  an  artist  and  a  master  of 
technique.  He  not  only  belonged  to  the  succession  of  the  English 
poets  who  had  gone  before,  but  some  of  their  forms  he  carried 
further  and  made  still  more  beautiful.  He  essayed  the  ballad,  the 
lyric,  the  narrative  poem,  the  monodrama,  the  classic  Greek  theme,' 
and  in  the  "Idylls"  made  at  least  an  approach  to  the  epic.  In 
exact  rime,  appropriate  epithet,  polished  phrase,  and  melodious 
expression,  he  has  few  rivals.  To  his  technical  facility  should  be 
added  his  close  observation  of  nature  and  life,  his  human  sympathy, 
his  sensitiveness  to  the  thought  currents  of  his  age,  his  conviction 
that  the  world  is  governed  by  great  natural  and  physical  laws,  and 
his  religious  faith  and  belief  in  immortality. 

Tennyson  popularized  the  Arthurian  legends.  The  old  Greek 
stories  and  ideals  live  again  in  some  of  his  most  characteristic  lyrics. 
On  the  whole  his  choicest  poem  is  "In  Memoriam,"  the  labor 
of  seventeen  years  and  the  profoundest  expression  of  his  mind 
and  heart. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  Tennyson,  voicing  as  he  did  in  easy  and 
exquisite  verse  the  concerns  and  perplexities  and  aspirations  of  the 
age  in  which  he  lived,  should  have  achieved  such  unparalleled 
success.  To  us  of  the  twentieth  century,  with  our  own  problems 
and  doubts,  he  makes  inevitably  a  slighter  appeal,  and  many  of 
his  poems  remain  unread.  Tennyson  is,  however,  a  sure  artist 
and  a  sweet  singer,  and  the  amount  of  his  imperishable  verse  is 
unquestionably  considerable.  Let  us  recall  a  few  of  his  most 
melodious  lines: 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  429 

"O,  hark,  O  hear!  how  thin  and  clear, 

And  thinner,  clearer,  farther  going ! 
0,  sweet  and  far  from  cliff  and  scar 

The  horns  of  Elfland  faintly  blowing ! 
Blow,  let  us  hear  the  purple  glens  replying, 
Blow,  bugle ;  answer,  echoes,  dying,  dying,  dying. 

"O  love,  they  die  in  yon  rich  sky. 
They  faint  on  hill  or  field  or  river; 
Our  echoes  roll  from  soul  to  soul, 
And  grow  for  ever  and  for  ever. 
Blow,  bugle,  blow,  set  the  wild  echoes  flying, 
And  answer,  echoes,  answer,  dying,  dying,  dying." 

Robert  Browning  (181 2-1 889)  has  a  universal  note  generally 
absent  from  Tennyson's  work — an  intensity  and  vigor,  a  tonic 
quality,  a  robust  cheerfulness,  the  optimism  of  a  man  who,  though 
seeing  all  of  life,  still  finds  that  it  is  good.  Therefore  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  Browning  is  a  rare  and  deeply  satisfying  experience, 
like  meeting  a  man  of  power  who  has  a  thousand  things  to  say  that 
one  wants  to  hear.  Browning  is  related  to  our  time  quite  as  much 
as  to  his  own,  for  his  characters  are  as  real  to  us  as  are  persons  of 
today.  We  see  them,  furthermore,  in  the  great  crises  of  their  ex- 
perience, and  our  contact  with  them  gives  pleasure  of  a  kind  deeper 
and  more  lasting  than  mere  entertainment.  The  frequent  obscurity 
of  Browning's  poems  is  rarely  unintelligibility.  Much  rich  thought 
is  condensed  in  small  space.  A  little  effort  to  gather  the  sense  of 
the  lines  is  worth  while  when  we  have  to  do  with  a  man  who  has  so 
much  to  teach  as  Browning. 

He  was  born  in  Camberwell,  now  a  part  of  London.  He  grew  up 
with  a  passion  for  music  and  painting  and  poetry  and  might  con- 
ceivably have  made  himself  famous  in  any  of  these  fields.  None  of 
his  earlier  poems  had  a  wide  circulation  ;  they  were  thought  eccen- 
tric and  difficult  to  understand.  But  when  in  1846  Browning  eloped 
with  Elizabeth  Barrett,  one  of  the  most  able  of  English  women 
writers  and  the  author  of  many  popular  poems,  the  public  suddenly 
took  an  interest  in  him.   The  almost  ideal  life  of  the  Brownings  in 


430 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


r 


Italy  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  episodes  in  English  literary  his- 
tory. These  fifteen  years  were  years  of  important  production  on 
the  part  of  both  these  cultured  and  gifted  people.    After  his  wife's 

death  Browninglived  partly 
in  England  and  partly  in 
Italy,  a  well-known  figure, 
rich  in  the  best  experiences 
of  life,  and  using  the  great 
powers  of  his  penetrating 
mind  and  insight  in  the 
elaboration  of  his  long 
series  of  poems.  The  high 
point  in  his  work  was  per- 
haps reached  when  "The 
Ring  and  the  Book"  was 
published,  in  1868.  By  a 
singular  chance  his  life 
closed  on  the  very  day 
(December  12,  1889)  of 
the  publication  of  his  last 
poem,  ''Asolando,"  the  epi- 
logue of  which  gives  his 
characteristic  philosophy  of 
life  in  its  manliest  and  most 
inspiring  form : 


ROBERT    BROWNING 


"One  who  never  turned  his  back  but  marched  breast  forward, 
Never  doubted  clouds  would  break, 
Never  dreamed,  tho'  right  were  worsted,  wrong  would  triumph. 
Held  we  fall  to  rise,  are  baffled  to  fight  better, 
Sleep  to  wake. 


'No,  at  noonday  in  the  bustle  of  man's  work-time 

Greet  the  unseen  with  a  cheer  ! 
Bid  him  forward,  breast  and  back  as  either  should  be, 
'Strive  and  thrive!'  cry  'Speed, — fight  on,  fare  ever 
There  as  here !'" 


ENGLISH  LITER.\TURE  431 

Browning  has  produced  a  great  gallery  of  portraits,  and  these 
with  all  their  variety  and  wide  range  of  interest,  possess  a  unity  that 
is  very  impressive.  Life  of  a  very  complex  character  is  shown ; 
there  is  much  diversity  of  time  and  place ;  yet  the  individual  who 
appears  on  his  canvas  is  caught  at  his  moment  of  greatest  interest 
to  us,  at  the  moment  of  his  greatest  emotional  intensity, — more 
commonly  at  his  time  of  probation,  when  the  conflict  of  his  soul  is 
the  paramount  concern.  Thus  Browning's  poetry  is  in  large  part 
''a  poetry  of  situations,"  or  psychological  experiences,  where  the 
thought  counts  for  everything.  Pippa,  the  factory  girl,  uncon- 
sciously directs  the  chief  persons  of  Asolo  in  the  crises  of  their  lives ; 
Andrea  del  Sarto,  the  faultless  painter,  reveals  the  source  of  his 
weakness ;  the  woman  in  the  laboratory  is  transformed  by  jealousy 
into  a  thing  of  evil ;  David  in  his  lusty  youth  comes  into  contact 
with  the  morbid  king  Saul ;  Karshish,  the  Arab  physician,  is  moved 
strangely  by  a  tale  of  simple  faith  in  the  Infinite ;  Abt  Vogler  dis- 
covers that  his  music  opens  to  him  a  heavenly  world ;  Rabbi  Ben 
Ezra  at  the  vantage  point  of  the  maturity  of  his  powers  discloses 
the  meaning  of  the  progress  of  the  human  spirit. 

But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  Browning's  work  is  simply  and 
wholly  a  series  of  psychological  studies.  He  is  a  true  poetic  artist, 
skillful  in  rimes  and  meters  and  diction,  trying  a  great  variety  of 
poetic  forms.  Some  of  his  finest  verses  are  pure  poems  of  action, 
others  descriptive  pieces ;  he  frequently  lets  himself  go  in  an  im- 
passioned lyric  like 

"Nay,  but  you,  who  do  not  love  her, 
Is  she  not  pure  gold,  my  mistress  ?  " 
or 

"There's  a  woman  like  a  dewdrop,  she's  so  purer  than  the  purest." 

Apart  from  the  poems  which  have  already  been  suggested,  such 
poems  as  "Fra  Lippo  Lippi,"  "Cleon,"  "Caliban  upon  Setebos," 
"One  Word  More,"  "The  Last  Ride  Together,"  and  the  poetic 
dramas,  of  which  "A  Blot  in  the  'Scutcheon"  is  a  splendid  example, 
command  our  admiration.    All  the  excellences  of  Browning  seem 


432  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

to  be  summed  up  in  his  masterpiece,  "The  Ring  and  the  Book,"  a 
splendid  poetic  work  of  over  twenty-one  thousand  lines. 

This  poem  unfolds  an  authentic  murder  story,  the  murder  by  Count 
Guido  Franceschini  of  his  wife  Pompilia.  Guido  pretends  that  his  was 
an  act  of  justice  in  view  of  his  wife's  suspected  adultery  with  a  priest, 
Caponsacchi.  The  time  of  the  poem  is  the  interval  between  the  arrest 
of  Guido  and  his  final  sentence.  There  are  twelve  books,  each  concerned 
with  the  tale  of  the  murder.  Nine  different  persons  in  succession  express 
their  own  individual  impressions,  beliefs,  and  judgments,  according  to 
their  lights. 

Browning  in  this  great  poem  raises  the  dramatic  monologue  to  its 
artistic  height.  His  poetry  is  wonderfully  sustained  and  beautiful. 
A  rare  understanding  of  human  motives  is  displayed  and  an  amaz- 
ing moral  and  spiritual  power.  The  gentle  and  pure  Pompilia,  the 
constant  center  of  interest  in  the  poem,  is  Browning's  greatest  crea- 
tion in  feminine  characterization,  worthy  of  a  place  among  the  most 
noble  women  in  all  imaginative  literature. 

Other  Victorian  poets.  Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning  (1806- 
1861)  has  already  been  mentioned.  Her  poetry  includes  several 
volumes,  the  earliest  published  in  1844  and  the  last  published  after 
her  death.  "Aurora  Leigh,"  her  verse  novel,  is  well  known,  as  are 
also  her  love  lyrics,  "Sonnets  from  the  Portuguese,"  which  show 
Mrs.  Browning  at  her  best. 

Dante  Gabriel  Rossetti  (1828-1882),  poet  and  painter,  a  man 
of  great  gifts  in  both  fields,  brings  to  mind  at  once  the  Pre- 
Raphaelite  Brotherhood,  a  movement  "to  enforce  and  encourage 
the  simplicity  of  nature."  In  the  movement  were  associated  a 
number  of  brilliant  men — artists  and  authors.  Ruskin's  famous 
championship  of  the  Brotherhood  in  his  vigorous  essay  "Pre- 
Raphaelitism"  did  much  to  call  public  attention  to  it.  Rossetti's 
poems  are  artistically  conceived  and  elaborated.  He  has  a  sensu- 
ous feeling  for  beauty  allied  to  that  of  Keats,  and  a  power  similar, 
though  inferior,  to  that  of  Tennyson.  A  number  of  his  verses  were 
written  to  accompany  his  own  pictures.  One  of  his  most  exquisite 
poems,  "The  Blessed  Damozel,"  was  written  in  its  first  form  when 


ENGLISH  LITEBL\TURE  433 

Rossetti  was  only  eighteen.  He  was  happy  in  his  use  of  the  ballad 
form  and  of  the  sonnet.  The  sonnet  sequence  entitled  "The  House 
of  Life''  contains  a  number  of  individual  sonnets  of  great  beauty. 
"Jenny,"  "My  Sister's  Sleep,"  and  "A  Last  Confession"  are  other 
important  poems  of  Rossetti's.  The  last  is  a  poignant  tale  in  mono- 
logue form  worthy  of  Browning. 

Christina  Rossetti  (1830-1894),  possessing  poetic  gifts  almost 
as  significant  as  those  of  her  brother  Dante  Gabriel,  wrote  a  few 
fanciful  verse  tales, — for  example,  "Goblin  Market"  and  "A 
Prince's  Progress," — but  most  of  her  poems  are  short  introspec- 
tive and  devotional  lyrics.  One  of  her  choicest  poems  is  given  in 
part  in  the  introduction  to  the  present  volume.  She  writes  with  great 
simplicity  and  delicacy.  She  is  strongly  attracted  to  solemn  and 
soul-searching  themes,  as  in  the  poems  "Up-Hill"  and  "Song." 

William  Morris  (1834-1896),  associated  with  Rossetti  and 
Burne-Jones  in  Pre-Raphaelite  art,  an  artistic  decorator,  a  printer 
of  beautiful  books,  a  poet,  a  social  reformer,  and  a  vigorous  per- 
sonality, has  left  his  mark  in  many  fields.  Epic  themes  and  situa- 
tions of  daring  and  adventure  appealed  to  him,  as  shown  in  his 
poem  "The  Life  and  Death  of  Jason"  and  in  his  collection  of  tales 
in  verse,  "The  Earthly  Paradise."  He  has  done  much  through 
his  Viking  tales  and  translations,  particularly  in  the  epic  poem 
"Sigurd  the  Volsung,"  to  quicken  interest  in  the  early  saga  litera- 
ture of  Norway  and  Iceland. 

Algernon  Charles  Swinburne  (183  7-1 909)  was  a  prolific  writer 
of  poems,  some  of  them  miracles  of  beauty  and  many  quite  com- 
monplace. He  was  an  eccentric  figure,  given  to  ecstasies,  devoted 
to  Victor  Hugo  and  to  Mazzini  and  the  freedom  of  Italy.  His 
poems  were  dedicated  to  Rossetti,  to  Burne-Jones,  to  William 
Morris,  and  others.  He  loved  the  sound  of  waters,  and  he  sang 
rapturously  of  the  sea.  The  old  Greek  themes  had  a  fascination 
for  him.  His  hates  were  as  marked  as  his  enthusiasms ;  he  was  re- 
belliously  unorthodox,  and  he  enjoyed  shocking  Victorian  respecta- 
bility. Swinburne  was  an  apt  inventor  of  metrical  forms.  "Songs 
before  Sunrise,"  "Tristram  of  Lyonesse,"  and  his  poems  in  Greek 
drama  form  are  especially  esteemed.    The  music  of  many  of  his 


434  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

verses,  especially  his  choruses,  is  extraordinary,  as  in  the  chorus 
from  "Atlanta  in  Calydon"  commencing  with  the  enchanting  lines : 

"Before  the  beginning  of  years, 

There  came  to  the  making  of  man 
Time,  with  a  gift  of  tears  ; 

Grief,  with  a  glass  that  ran ; 
Pleasure,  with  pain  for  leaven ; 

Summer,  with  flowers  that  fall ; 
Remembrance  fallen  from  heaven, 

And  madness  risen  from  hell ; 
Strength  without  hands  to  smite ; 

Love  that  endures  for  a  breath ; 
Night,  the  shadow  of  light, 

And  life,  the  shadow  of  death." 

Our  list  of  Victorian  poets  is  not  complete,  for  James  Thomson, 
Arthur  Hugh  Clough,  Oscar  Wilde,  Coventry  Patmore,  Francis 
Thompson  (the  author  of  that  remarkable  poem  "The  Hound  of 
Heaven"),  and  others  belong  to  the  number.  Edward  Fitzgerald's 
chief  work,  his  translation  of  the  "Rubaiyat,"  has  already  been  re- 
ferred to  in  these  pages,  and  the  poems  of  Stevenson,  Meredith,  and 
Hardy  will  call  for  a  word  a  little  later. 


The  Earlier  Victorian  Novelists 

Charles  Dickens  (i8 12-1870),  who  properly  ushers  in  for  us  the 
brilliant  succession  of  Victorian  novelists,  rose  to  fame  when  "Pick- 
wick Papers"  appeared  in  monthly  numbers  in  1836-1837.  He  had 
had  a  boyhood  and  youth  of  hardship,  followed  by  invaluable  experi- 
ence as  a  reporter,  in  which  capacity  his  very  wonderful  powers  of 
observation  and  his  faculty  of  rapid,  incisive  writing  were  developed. 
His  first  book,  "Sketches  by  Boz,"  made  only  a  slight  appeal,  but 
the  readers  of  "Pickwick"  increased  in  number  as  that  work  pro- 
gressed, until  Dickens,  then  only  twenty-four  years  old,  had  a 
national  hearing.  "Oliver  Twist"  followed  the  next  year,  and  there- 
after (we  name  only  Dickens's  chief  successes)  "Nicholas  Nickleby," 
"The  Old  Curiosity  Shop,"  "Martin  Chuzzlewnt,"  "Dombey  and 


ENGLISH  LITER.\TURE  435 

Son,"  ''David  Copperfield,"  "Bleak  House,"  "A  Tale  of  Two 
Cities,"  "Great  Expectations,"  "Our  IVIutual  Friend,"  and  in  1870, 
the  year  of  Dickens's  death,  the  unfinished  "Edwin  Drood." 

If  our  primary  interest  in  Dickens  is  to  find  pleasure  in  his 
humor,  "Pickwick"  is  his  masterpiece.  The  construction  is  loose; 
the  tale  is  one  of  pure  enjoyment ;  and  the  situations  (new  in  each 
chapter),  the  characters,  the  descriptions,  the  waggery,  all  have  the 
flavor  of  Dickens  at  its  rarest.  Who  has  not  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Mr.  Pickwick,  of  Mr.  Jingle,  of  Mrs.  Bardell,  and  of  the  two 
memorable  Wellers ! 

But  the  succeeding  books,  each  possessing  some  of  the  qualities 
that  are  so  admirable  in  "Pickwick,"  have  also  virtues  of  their  own. 
The  series  of  portraits  continues,  and  we  are  introduced  not  only  to 
figures  that  live  in  our  memory,  like  Mark  Tapley,  Mrs.  Gamp, 
Silas  Wegg,  Mr.  Squeers,  Fagin,  and  Peggotty,  but  to  others  that 
serve  as  the  most  universal  of  types — Mr.  Micawber,  Mrs.  Jellyby, 
old  Scrooge,  Mr.  Pecksniff,  Uriah  Heep.  The  British  capital  is 
pictured  with  such  minuteness  that  the  London  of  Dickens's  day 
lives  unchanged  as  the  London  of  our  imagination.  Other  settings 
are  no  less  vividly  pictured.  The  incidents  of  the  novels  have  an 
astonishing  variety  and  a  no  less  astonishing  similarity. 

Dickens  is  more  readable  than  many  a  writer  of  more  finished 
novels.  The  number  of  persons  who  have  read  the  complete  series 
of  his  novels  and  who  have  reread  repeatedly  their  favorites,  must 
be  legion.  Dickens's  audience  is  not  ordinarily  critical,  though  his 
readers  may  clearly  recognize  the  occasional  slovenliness,  senti- 
mentality, fantastic  caricatures,  extravagance,  and  poor  taste  that 
appear  in  his  novels.  What  they  admire  is.  Dickens's  skill  in  telling 
a  story  and  in  painting  portraits,  his  frolicsome  humor  and  genuine 
kindliness  and  goodness  of  heart,  and  his  readiness  to  smite  in- 
trenched evil  in  the  hope  of  leaving  a  better  world  than  he  had  found. 

William  Makepeace  Thackeray  (1811-1863)  wrote  in  an  easy, 
graceful,  almost  flawless  style,  revealing  always  the  cultured  gentle- 
man that  he  was.  In  the  best  sense  he  may  be  described  as  a  man 
of  sentiment.  His  satiric  manner  was  used  deliberately  for  a  worthy 
end.    Thackeray  all  his  life  possessed  boyish  enthusiasms  and  one 


436 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


of  the  most  captivating  of  personalities.  He  was  born  in  India  and 
was  brought  as  a  small  boy  to  England,  where  in  due  time  he  went 
to  the  Charterhouse  School  and  to  Trinity  College,  Cambridge.  He 
showed  a  fondness  for  drawing,  especially  caricature,  and  a  bent  to- 
ward writing.    At  Weimar,  where  he  spent  a  year,  he  met  Schiller 

and  Goethe ;  a  little  later 


he  made  his  home  tem- 
porarily in  Paris,  to  which 
city  he  returned  repeat- 
edly in  his  later  years. 
Most  of  his  life,  however, 
was  spent  in  England. 
Journalism,  illustrating, 
magazine-writing,  and  de- 
scriptions of  his  travels 
occupied  the  early  years 
of  his  manhood.  He  wrote 
under  assumed  names  at 
first  and  seemed  to  have 
a  special  fondness  for 
one  of  these,  ''Michael 
Angelo  Titmarsh."  Like 
Dickens  he  gave  public 
lectures  in  England  and 
America.  Thackeray's  es- 
says and  papers  on  vari- 
ous subjects  are  of  a  piece,  as  to  style  and  interest  and  delicate 
humor,  with  his  novels.  He  was  a  "clubbable"  man,  a  rare  friend, 
an  engaging  letter-writer.  We  look  upon  the  familiar  portrait,  with 
the  strong,  kindly,  bespectacled  face,  feeling  the  same  emotions  as 
if  we  were  looking  at  a  personal  friend. 

"Vanity  Fair"  (1847-1848),  "Pendennis"  (1850),  "Henry  Es- 
mond" (1852),  and  the  "Newcomes"  (1855)  are  Thackeray's 
finest  novels.  Let  us  glance  briefly  at  the  first  and  third  of  these. 
In  the  former  Thackeray  presents  a  masterpiece,  a  society  novel  of 
the  early  nineteenth  century.   It  is  developed  carefully.   The  whole 


WILLIAM  MAKEPEACE  THACKERAY 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  437 

action  centers  in  Becky  Sharp,  one  of  the  immortal  figures  of  litera- 
ture, dazzling,  unscrupulous,  resourceful.  The  novel  is  "without  a 
hero,"  but  unforgetable  figures  in  addition  to  Becky  are  not  lack- 
ing—  Rawdon  Crawley,  Amelia  Sedley,  the  Osbornes,  and  Lord 
Steyne.  Thackeray  describes  brilliantly  the  fashionable  life  of 
the  period  and  displays  a  keen  insight  into  human  motives  and 
human  foibles.  Pathos  and  satiric  wit  are  curiously  intermingled. 
There  are  great  individual  scenes,  as  in  all  of  Thackeray's  novels. 
James  T.  Fields  says : 

"A  friend  once  congratulated  Thackeray  on  that  touch  in  which 
Becky  'admires'  her  husband  when  he  is  giving  Lord  Steyne  the  punish- 
ment which  ruins  her  for  life.  'Well,'  he  said,  'when  I  wrote  that  sen- 
tence, I  slapped  my  fist  on  the  table,  and  said,  "That  is  a  touch  of 
genius.'"" 

"Henry  Esmond"  deals  with  the  time  of  Queen  Anne  and  the 
subsequent  period  and  shows  Thackeray's  wonderfully  complete 
knowledge  of  the  social  and  literary  history  of  those  times.  Its 
slightly  archaic  vocabulary  is  never  overdone  or  wearisome ;  it  gives 
just  the  necessary  atmosphere  to  serve  for  complete  reality.  Again 
the  chief  figure  is  a  woman — the  beautiful  and  irresistible  Beatrix 
Esmond.  None  but  a  very  great  writer  could  delineate  such  a  char- 
acter. We  see  her  again,  in  the  decline  of  her  fortunes,  in  "The 
Virginians,"  the  sequel  to  "Henry  Esmond." 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  "Vanity  Fair"  and  "Henry  Es- 
mond" are  the  two  English  novels  that  it  is  indispensable  for 
everyone  to  read  who  cares  for  the  fine  things  in  literature. 

"George  Eliot"  (Mary  Ann  Evans)  (1819-1880)  reached  her 
great  period  in  the  decade  from  i860  to  1870  and  a  little  later.  Her 
fame  has  since  become  considerably  dimmed.  The  reason  seems  to 
lie  in  the  fact  that  her  novels,  with  all  their  strength  and  superior 
craftsmanship,  convey  to  the  reader  the  author's  feeling  of  gloom 
and  lack  of  buoyancy,  and  more  especially  in  the  fact  that  the 
psychological  novel,  though  new  in  her  own  day,  has  become  an  old 
story  to  us.  In  some  directions  George  Eliot's  work,  even  in  her  own 
special  field,  has  now  been  excelled.  It  would  be  a  great  mistake  to 
make  too  much  of  these  matters,  for  George  Eliot  was  a  writer  of 


438  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

solid  attainments,  of  very  keen  powers  of  observation  (particularly 
of  the  persons  and  scenes  in  her  own  native  Warwickshire),  of  pro- 
found personal  experience,  and  of  wide  reading  and  culture.  This 
must  be  evident  to  every  reader  of  her  novels.  Her  earlier  period — 
the  period  of  "Adam  Bede"  (1859),  "The  Mill  on  the  Floss" 
(i860),  with  its  important  and  attractive  autobiographical  element, 
and  "Silas  Marner"  (1861) — is  on  the  whole  her  best,  though 
"Romola"  and  "Middlemarch,"  belonging  to  the  later  group,  are 
almost  if  not  quite  up  to  her  highest  level  of  excellence.  Genera- 
tions of  readers  will  continue  to  follow  sympathetically  and  with 
profit  the  fortunes  of  such  figures  as  Silas  Marner,  Maggie  Tulliver, 
and  Hetty  Sorrel,  for  the  ethical  problems  and  the  character  studies 
of  George  Eliot's  novels  are  of  perennial  interest.  "My  books,"  she 
said,  "are  deeply  serious  things  to  me  and  come  out  of  all  the  pain- 
ful discipline  and  most  hardly  learned  lessons  of  my  life." 

Other  mid-Victorian  novelists.  The  remarkable  fecundity  of 
the  novel  in  Victorian  days  is  a  well-known  phenomenon.  "Jane 
Eyre,"  "Shirley,"  and  "Villette,"  by  Charlotte  Bronte  (i8i6- 
1855);  "Alton  Locke,"  "Hypatia,"  and  "Westward  Ho,"  by 
Charles  Kingsley  (1819-1875)  ;  "The  Last  Days  of  Pompeii"  and 
other  no  less  important  novels  by  Edward  Bulwer,  Lord  Lytton 
(1803-1873)  ;  the  Barchester  novels  of  Anthony  Trollope  (1815- 
1882),  with  their  many  extraordinary  excellences  and  the  creation 
of  real  characters  like  Mrs.  Proudie  and  the  Warden ;  "Lavengro" 
and  "Romany  Rye,"  the  productions  of  that  eccentric  genius 
George  Borrow  (i  803-1881), — all  these  are  certainly  worthy  of 
note.  Nor  have  we  mentioned  Disraeli,  Charles  Reade,  Captain 
Marryat,  Wilkie  Collins,  Mrs.  Gaskell,  Blackmore,  Watts-Dunton, 
and  others  hardly  less  important. 

Late  Victorian  Novelists 

The  fiction  of  the  latter  part  of  the  century  is  also  associated 
with  a  number  of  names  honored  in  English  literature.  In  pass- 
ing we  mention  Samuel  Butler  (183 5-1902),  artist,  musician,  and 
writer,  whose  "Way  of  All  Flesh"  and  "Erewhon"  have  so  many 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  439 

admirers;  and  George  Gissing  (1859-1903),  critic  and  novelist, 
whose  autobiographical  writings  "By  the  Ionian  Sea"  and  "The 
Private  Papers  of  Henry  Ryecroft"  will  conceivably  have  enthu- 
siastic readers  a  century  hence,  so  perfect  are  they  in  style  and 
workmanship. 

Three  authors  call  for  more  extended  treatment. 

George  Meredith  (1828-1909)  seems  to  be  a  near  contemporary, 
though  ''The  Ordeal  of  Richard  Feverel,"  in  many  respects  the  fore- 
most of  his  novels,  appeared  as  long  ago  as  1859.  He  suggests  in 
his  studied,  condensed,  and  frequently  obscure  style  his  American 
contemporary  Henry  James.  Subtle  and  cryptic  wit,  profound 
character  study,  psychological  realism  of  the  kind  made  familiar  to 
us  in  George  Eliot,  are  characteristics  of  George  Meredith's  novels. 
His  reputation  is  very  high  among  the  more  thoughtful  and  dis- 
criminating readers  of  our  day.  Surely  "Richard  Feverel,"  "The 
Adventures  of  Harry  Richmond,"  "The  Egoist,"  and  "Diana  of  the 
Crossways"  may  be  classed  with  the  finest  novels  in  our  language. 
Every  page  is  packed  with  thought.  To  one  familiar  with  Mere- 
dith's style  the  difficulties  of  expression  tend  to  disappear,  and  the 
satisfaction  which  comes  through  contact  with  artistic  work  of  the 
first  order  correspondingly  increases.  There  are  many  famous  pas- 
sages in  his  novels ;  as,  for  example,  the  meeting  of  Richard  Feverel 
and  Lucy  Desborough,  one  of  the  most  idyllic  and  captivating  of 
love  scenes. 

Meredith's  poems  are  admired  for  somewhat  the  same  reasons  as 
his  novels,  and  they  possess  the  same  qualities.  "Love  in  the  Val- 
ley" is  a  characteristic  poem.  The  beauty  of  nature  is  eloquently 
extolled  in  the  best  of  Meredith's  work. 

Robert  Louis  Stevenson  (1850-1894),  a  latter-day  Romanticist, 
has  written  the  best  of  the  recent  personal  letters,  familiar  essays, 
and  poems  for  children  ;  the  best  of  boys'  stories;  and,  in  "Will  0' 
the  Mill"  and  "A  Lodging  for  the  Night,"  two  of  the  best  of  Eng- 
lish short  stories.  P'urthermore,  the  man  is  better  than  his  work, 
sure  as  that  always  is  in  its  craftsmanship ;  for  the  well-beloved 
name  of  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  signifies  to  all  of  us  an  unfaltering 
and  undefeated  spirit,  fighting  against  overwhelming  odds.    It  is 


440  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

not  necessary  to  rehearse  in  this  place  the  incidents  in  Stevenson's 
personal  history.  The  most  characteristic  element  in  his  nature  was 
his  love  for  youth  and  daring  and  adventure.  His  work,  in  con- 
sequence, generally  shows  the  impulse  of  the  Romanticist,  as  is 
evident  in  ''Treasure  Island,"  "Kidnapped,"  "The  Master  of  Bal- 
lantrae,"  and  "David  Balfour,"  to  say  nothing  of  the  glimpses  af- 
forded by  his  essays  and  by  the  narratives  of  his  travels,  by  the 
childlike  pictures  of  his  boyhood  in  "A  Child's  Garden  of  Verses," 
and  by  his  more  mature  reflections  in  "Underwoods."  Americans 
will  always  remember  Robert  Louis  Stevenson's  brief  experiences  in 
our  country  and  will  make  his  American  places  of  residence  goals 
of  friendly  pilgrimage. 

Thomas  Hardy  (1840-  )  is  incomparably  the  greatest  of 
recent  English  novelists.  Apart  from  his  novels  he  has  written  a 
considerable  number  of  poems,  and  a  dramatic  work  of  vast  scope, 
"The  Dynasts,"  in  verse  and  prose,  with  nineteen  acts  and  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  scenes.  His  verse  has  the  same  rugged  character, 
the  same  sense  of  destiny,  and  the  same  saturnine  aspect  as  his 
novels.  The  latter  number  fourteen,  and  in  addition  there  are  four 
volumes  of  stories,  the  setting  being,  with  few  exceptions,  one  re- 
stricted geographical  location — "Wessex,"  in  south-central  Eng- 
land, which  appears  as  a  primitive  region  where  nature  shows  a 
stern  and  frequently  malignant  face.  Hardy's  moods  in  his  strong- 
est novels  are  not  lightsome  or  joyous,  and  the  background  which 
he  has  chosen  for  his  tales  lends  itself  to  his  purpose  marvelously. 
On  his  small  stage  some  of  the  great  tragedies  of  life  are  enacted. 
The  elementary  truths  of  life  are  presented  in  somber  guise,  man 
being  bound  up  with  his  environment  and  left  helplessly  in  the 
hands  of  a  fate  stronger  than  himself. 

Hardy's  conspicuous  successes  are  four :  "Far  from  the  Madding 
Crowd"  (1874),  "The  Return  of  the  Native"  (1878),  "The  Mayor 
of  Casterbridge"  (1886),  and  "Tess  of  the  D'Urbervilles"  (1891). 
To  this  list  should  perhaps  be  added  "Jude  the  Obscure"  (1895), 
though  its  extreme  Naturalism  after  the  Zola  type  and  the  sordid 
experiences  of  its  chief  characters  place  it  a  little  below  the  highest 
level  of  his  work.    There  can  be  no  question  that  Hardy  is  a  great 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  441 

literary  artist.  His  style  is  simple,  straightforward,  and  clear.  His 
descriptive  powers  are  most  remarkable,  especially  in  his  nature 
pictures  and  in  his  pen  portraits  of  his  chief  characters.  Note,  for 
instance,  the  description  of  Egdon  heath  and  of  Eustacia  Vye  in 
''The  Return  of  the  Native."  His  plots  are  well-nigh  perfect.  This 
remark  applies  not  only  to  his  novels  as  a  whole  but  to  the  working- 
out  of  individual  incidents.  A  good  example  is  the  chapter  ''All 
Saints  and  All  Souls"  in  "Far  from  the  Madding  Crowd."  Hardy 
is  fortunate  in  his  humorous  passages  ;  his  humor  is  genuine,  though 
it  has  an  ironic  tinge. 

If  we  were  to  suggest  one  book  displaying  all  the  excellences  of 
Hardy,  it  would  be  "The  Return  of  the  Native" — clearly  one  of 
the  masterpieces  of  fiction  of  the  last  generation. 

The  Twentieth  Century 

Books  of  our  own  day  pass  in  endless  procession.  Time  has  not 
yet  thinned  their  ranks.  We  follow  our  tastes  and  read  what  we 
will ;  our  judgments  are  largely  matters  of  individual  opinion  and 
are  subject  to  continuous  modification.  Yet  it  may  be  useful,  in 
closing  this  chapter  on  English  literature,  to  speak  of  some  of  the 
currents  of  thought  of  the  twentieth  century  and  a  few  of  the 
writers  who,  for  one  reason  or  another,  have  won  public  esteem. 

The  English  novel  continues  in  its  place  of  preeminence  over 
other  types  of  writing.  We  hear  a  great  deal  about  the  novel  of 
ideas.  One  of  its  chief  exponents  was  said  by  Henry  James  in  a 
famous  essay  to  "turn  out  his  mind  and  its  contents  upon  us  by  any 
free  familiar  gesture  and  as  from  a  window  forever  open."  The 
contemporary  English  novel,  though  sometimes  quite  undisciplined 
in  form,  shows,  perhaps  more  frequently,  remarkable  technical  skill. 
Many  novels  are  clearly  propagandist  documents,  written  to  prove 
some  theory  and  exhibiting  the  well-recognized  tendency  of  the  day 
in  the  direction  of  extreme  liberalism.  Coupled  with  this  is  a  dis- 
regard of  the  conventionalities,  extravagant  at  times,  but  whole- 
some and  refreshing  as  an  offset  to  the  smugness  and  respectability 
of  the  immediate  past.    The  present  is  not  a  time  of  reticence,  it 


442  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

appears;  but  in  the  attempt  to  discover  "the  real  facts  of  life" 
many  writers  of  the  day  go  to  absurd  lengths.  For  instance,  the 
vogue  of  a  number  of  novelists  is  secured  largely  because  of  their 
boldness  in  describing  the  pathology  of  sex.  Sociological  novels  are 
still  common,  for  our  generation  is  exercised  by  many  pressing  social 
problems.  Ordinarily  the  treatment  of  religion  in  the  novel  and 
in  other  types  of  literature  is  an  uncommon  motive,  and  when 
Mr.  Chesterton  or  Mr.  Wells  or  Mr.  Shaw,  each  in  his  way,  enters 
the  field,  his  mood  is  generally  apologetic,  never  fervid.  A.  C.  Ben- 
son's religious  studies  are  clearly  a  survival. 

A  more  definite  reference  to  the  fiction  of  this  century  shows  its 
very  complex  character — it  cannot  be  hedged  in  by  any  brief  men- 
tion of  the  current  tendencies.  At  the  beginning  of  the  century 
Rudyard  Kipling's  popularity  was  at  its  highest  point.  He  has 
glorified  the  achievements  of  the  age  in  material  and  scientific  prog- 
ress and  in  empire-building ;  he  has  made  India  amazingly  clear  to 
us,  especially  in  "Kim,"  his  masterpiece;  and  he  has  written  some 
of  the  best  short  stories  in  our  language.  William  De  Morgan  pro- 
duced in  1906,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four,  his  first  novel,  "Joseph 
Vance,"  and  followed  this  by  five  others,  all  written  after  the  fashion 
of  an  earlier  time  rather  than  of  our  own  period.  Maurice  Hewlett's 
varied  work,  of  which  the  historical  novels  "  Richard  Yea-and-Nay  " 
and  "The  Queen's  Quair"  may  be  given  the  chief  place,  shows  the 
care  of  a  real  artist.  Arnold  Bennett,  in  his  provincial  studies,  the 
"Five  Towns"  novels,  ushered  in  by  "The  Old  Wives'  Tale"  in 
1908,  has  produced  remarkable  books  which  are  certainly  destined 
to  survive.  Joseph  Conrad,  a  man  of  Polish  origin,  a  sailor  of  the 
seas,  and  a  writer  only  in  his  later  years,  may  well  prove  to  be  one 
of  the  chief  English  novelists  of  our  generation.  His  is  a  sincere 
and  attractive  personality,  and  there  is  in  his  work  a  permanent  and 
universal  quality.  "The  Nigger  of  the  Narcissus,"  "Lord  Jim," 
"Nostromo,"  and  indeed  all  of  Conrad's  novels  have  a  host  of  ad- 
mirers. John  Galsworthy,  who  is,  as  yet,  more  conspicuous  in  his 
dramatic  writings,  is  growing  in  power  as  a  novelist.  Hugh  Wal- 
pole,  Eden  Phillpotts,  W.  L.  George,  Gilbert  Cannan,  W.  B.  Max- 
well, D.  H.  Lawrence,  Compton  Mackenzie,  and  other  novelists 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE  443 

have  a  considerable  following.  H.  G.  Wells  must  be  accorded  a 
prominent  place,  for  he  is  a  phenomenon  of  our  era.  Since  1895  he 
has  written  constantly,  and  his  renown  has  grown.  Romances ;  essays 
of  a  sociological  and  religious  character ;  a  series  of  novels,  of  which 
''Mr.  Britling  Sees  it  Through"  and  others  have  had  an  astonishing 
circulation;  and  ''The  Outline  of  History,"  a  brilliant  performance 
out  of  his  natural  field,  which  has  served  to  a  surprising  extent  to 
make  historical  reading  popular, — all  these  are  to  his  credit.  They 
are  all  written  in  a  hurried,  journalistic  style,  as  if  the  author  pos- 
sessed a  rage  for  production  that  could  not  be  appeased. 

In  the  field  of  criticism  England  has  continued  to  make  substan- 
tial contributions  to  the  work  of  the  past,  as  evidenced  by  the  writ- 
ings of  George  Saintsbury,  Edmund  Gosse,  William  Archer,  Arthur 
Symons,  Sidney  Colvin,  and  others. 

The  drama,  after  a  long  period  of  comparative  inaction,  has  come 
to  its  own  again  in  England  as  on  the  Continent.  While  the  Ro- 
mantic tradition  has  been  preserved  in  the  verse  dramas  of  Stephen 
Phillips,  of  which  "Paolo  and  Francesca"  is  so  choice  an  example, 
and  while  the  Irish  drama^  of  our  day  has  a  characteristic  poetic 
quality,  the  plays  by  English  writers  of  the  past  two  decades  are 
nearly  all  in  prose,  following  in  the  wake  of  the  sociological  and 
problem  plays  of  Ibsen,  which  they  so  frequently  resemble.  Sir 
Arthur  Wing  Pinero,  Henry  Arthur  Jones,  and  Arnold  Bennett  are 
well-known  pla>'wrights.  Sir  James  Barrie's  plays,  with  their  very 
original  flavor  and  charm,  are  extremely  popular.  John  Drinkwater, 
in  his  thoughtful  study  "Abraham  Lincoln,"  has  proved  of  special 
interest  to  Americans.  John  Galsworthy's  somber  and  powerful 
"The  Silver  Box,"  "Justice,"  and  other  plays  exhibit  his  deep  sense 
of  social  inequality  and  wrong.  George  Bernard  Shaw,  however, 
overtops  the  other  English  dramatists  of  his  day.  No  one  can  doubt 
his  wit,  his  brilliance,  and  his  versatility, — nor  his  manifold  eccen- 
tricities of  manner  and  ideas.  His  prose  prefaces,  frequently  of  un- 
conscionable length,  set  forth  some  of  his  favorite  theories.  Shaw's 
most  representative  plays  are  apparently  intended  as  tracts  for  the 
times,  to  overturn  commonly  accepted  ideas  and  conventions.    His 

^See  the  chapter  on  Irish  literature. 


444  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

purpose  is  probably  sincere  enough,  though  he  takes  delight  in  ex- 
asperating jicople,  and  one  always  suspects  that  he  is  standing  in  the 
wings  and  winking  at  his  audience.  Playgoers  of  our  day  have  vivid 
recollections  of  "Arms  and  the  Man,"  "Caesar  and  Cleopatra," 
"Man  and  Superman,"  "Fanny's  First  Play,"  "Androcles  and  the 
Lion,"  and  "Pygmalion."  Shaw  has  also  an  extremely  large  read- 
ing public,  especially  in  America. 

In  some  respects  the  poetry  of  our  era  is  its  richest  literary 
product.  It  has  many  phases.  One  of  these,  "free  verse,"  will  be 
treated  in  the  chapter  on  American  literature.  Only  a  few  of  the 
recent  English  poets  can  be  mentioned  in  our  narrow  limits.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  century  Kipling's  poems  had  an  enormous  pop- 
ularity; and  some  of  them,  especially  the  dialect  verses  and  the 
noble  "  Recessional,"  have  taken  a  permanent  place  in  our  literature. 
The  poems  of  Stephen  Phillips  and  of  Arthur  Symons  are  remark- 
able for  their  sensuous  beauty ;  and  A.  E.  Housman's  collection  of 
verses,  "A  Shropshire  Lad,"  for  its  extraordinary  simplicity. 

"When  I  was  one-and-twenty 

I  heard  a  wise  man  say, 
'Give  crowns  and  pounds  and  guineas 

But  not  your  heart  away  ; 
Give  pearls  away  and  rubies 

But  keep  your  fancy  free.' 
But  I  was  one-and-twenty, 

No  use  to  talk  to  me." 

Among  the  newer  poets  Wilfrid  W.  Gibson,  Siegfried  Sassoon, 
William  H.  Davies,  Ralph  Hodgson,  Lascelles  Abercrombie,  and 
Walter  de  la  Mare  should  certainly  be  mentioned.  Alfred  Noyes 
has  produced  a  great  body  of  verse  of  varied  character, — delicate, 
beautiful,  whimsical,  sometimes  stirring  in  its  appeal.  "The  High- 
wayman," "The  Barrel  Organ,"  "A  Song  of  England,"  "The  Tramp 
Transfigured,"  and  others  of  his  poems  are  deservedly  popular. 
John  Masefield  is  now  generally  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  gifted 
of  recent  English  poets.  A  number  of  his  lyrics  have  a  captivating 
beauty.  The  sea  is  his  element ;  when  this  is  his  theme  he  is  always 
fortunate. 


ENGLISH  LITEEL\TURE  445 

"A  wind's  in  the  heart  of  me,  a  fire's  in  my  heels, 
I  am  tired  of  brick  and  stone  and  rumbling  wagon-wheels ; 
I  hunger  for  the  sea's  edge,  the  limits  of  the  land, 
Where  the  wild  old  Atlantic  is  shouting  on  the  sand." 

Last  of  all,  we  mention  Rupert  Brooke,  one  of  the  young  men  of 
promise  who  laid  down  their  lives  during  the  World  War.  Brooke 
had  written  praiseworthy  poems  earlier,  but  nothing  to  equal  the 
little  group  of  prophetic  sonnets  produced  in  service.  That  begin- 
ning "Now,  God  be  thanked  Who  has  matched  us  with  His  hour," 
and  that  other,  "Blow  out,  you  bugles,  over  the  rich  Dead !  "  posi- 
tively electrify  the  reader;  they  take  their  place  with  the  best  lyric 
poetry  of  our  era. 

Reference  List 

CiiEYNEY.    Short  History  of  England.     Ginn  and  Company. 

Cambridge  Modern  Histor\-,  Vols.  XII  and  XIII.     G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 

Cambridge  History  of  English  Literature  (the  later  volumes).  G.  P.  Put- 
nam's Sons. 

Elton.  Survey  of  English  Literature,  17S0-1880  (4  vols.).  The  Macmillan 
Company. 

G.\RXETT  and  Gosse.  History  of  English  Literature,  Vol.  IV.  The  Mac- 
millan Company. 

Dictionary  of  National  Biography  (many  volumes).  The  Macmillan 
Company. 

English  Men  of  Letters  Series  (many  volumes).   The  Macmillan  Company. 

Long.  English  Literature  (Ginn  and  Company).  Similar  high-school  te.xts 
on  other  publishers'  lists. 

Saintsbury.   Short  History  of  English  Literature.   The  INIacmillan  Company. 

Sain-tsbury.  History  of  Nineteenth  Century  Literature.  The  Macmillan 
Company. 

GossE.    Modem  EngUsh  Literature.     D.  .^ppleton  and  Company. 

Symons.  The  Romantic  Movement  in  English  Poetry.  E.  P.  Button  & 
Company. 

Buck.    Social  Forces  in  Modern  Literature.    Ginn  and  Company. 

Burton.    Masters  of  the  English  Novel.    Henry  Holt  and  Company. 

Lanier.    The  English  Novel.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Cross.    Development  of  the  English  Novel.    The  Macmillan  Company. 

CuNLiFFE.  English  Literature  during  the  Last  Half  Century.  The  Mac- 
millan Company,  ioiq. 

Brownell.    Victorian  Prose  INIasters.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Bryan  and  Crane.    The  English  Familiar  F^ssay.    Ginn  and  Company. 

Untermeyer.    Modern  British  Poetry.    Harcourt,  Brace  and  Company. 


446  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Critical  works  on  individual  authors  are  innumerable. 

Stevenson.    Home  Book  of  Verse.    Henry  Holt  and  Company. 

Oxford  Book  of  English  Verse.    Oxford  University  Press. 

Oxford  Book  of  Victorian  Verse.    Oxford  University  Press. 

The  Book  of  Georgian  Verse.    Brentano's. 

Oxford  Treasury  of  English  Literature  (3  vols.).    Oxford  University  Press. 

Manly.  English  Prose  and  Poetry  (Ginn  and  Company).  Similar  volumes 
published  by  The  Macmillan  Company;  Scott,  Foresman  and  Company; 
and  others. 

Stedman.   Victorian  Anthology.    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

Athenaeum  Press  Series  contains  valuable  volumes,  with  critical  notes,  of 
selections  from  Keats,  Shelley,  De  Quincey,  Landor,  Wordsworth,  Tenny- 
son, and  Carlyle.    Ginn  and  Company. 

Everyman's  Library  contains  many  nineteenth-century  classics  (send  to 
E.  P.  Button  &  Company  for  list).  Other  useful  series:  Bohn  (Harcourt, 
Brace  and  Company)  ;  Temple  Classics  (E.  P.  Button  &  Company) ; 
Golden  Treasury  (The  Macmillan  Company). 

School  classics:  Standard  English  Classics  (Ginn  and  Company).  Similar 
series  on  other  publishers'  lists. 

The  publishers  of  standard  editions  of  the  works  of  the  authors  named  in 
this  chapter  can  be  readily  located. 

Suggested  Topics 

Romanticism  and  Classicism  —  a  comparison. 

The  lyrics  of  Keats  and  Shelley. 

A  study  of  Wordsworth's  ode  on  "Intimations  of  Immortality." 

Wordsworth's  attitude  toward  nature. 

Scott's  typical  themes  and  his  historical  method. 

The  personality  of  Charles  Lamb,  as  shown  in  his  essays. 

The  Victorians  and  ourselves — contrasts. 

Macaulay's  prose  style. 

A  study  of  Carlyle's  "  Sartor  Resartus." 

Ruskin's  attitude  toward  economic  questions,  as  shown  in  "The  Crown  of 

Wild  Olive." 
The  choicest  lyrics  of  Tennyson. 
Tennyson's  use  of  the  "Morte  d'Arthur." 
Browning's  philosophy  of  life. 
A  study  of  Browning's  "Men  and  Women." 
Bickens's  humor,  as  displayed  in  "  Pickwick  Papers." 
A  character  study  of  Becky  Sharp. 
The  personality  of  Robert  Louis  Stevenson. 
Striking  passages  from  Meredith. 
An  analysis  of  Hardy's  "  Return  of  the  Native." 
Recent  English  poets. 
A  study  of  a  recent  English  novel. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

IRISH  LITERATURE 

Tradition  and  Early  History 

Pre-Christian  Ireland.  The  Irish  are  a  Celtic  people.  The 
evidence  seems  to  point  to  a  twofold  Celtic  migration  from  the  Con- 
tinent to  the  British  Isles,  first  by  the  Gaelic  and  later  by  the 
Britannic  branch.  The  latter  displaced  the  Gaels  and  crowded 
them  into  Ireland  and  the  Scottish  Highlands.  So  far  as  actual 
events  are  concerned,  we  have  practically  nothing  that  is  authen- 
tic until  close  upon  the  Christianization  of  the  island.  There  are 
traditions  of  shadowy  ancestral  races  and  conflicts — of  the  mon- 
strous Firbolgs  and  the  fierce  Fomorians,  overcome  by  the  half 
supernatural  race  of  the  Tuatha  De  Danann,  who  are  said  to  have 
come  from  Greece ;  of  the  four  Milesian  princes  from  Spain,  who 
overcame  the  Tuatha  and  established  the  high  kingship  in  Ireland ; 
of  the  long  line  of  kings  that  followed;  of  King  Conchobhar^  and 
the  hero  Cuchulain,-  and  of  King  Cormac  mac  Art  and  the  two 
chieftains  Finn  and  Ossian.  With  Cormac  we  begin  to  see  the 
dawn  of  authentic  history.  He  is  supposed  to  have  reigned  about 
the  middle  of  the  third  century  of  the  Christian  Era. 

The  pagan  pantheon  of  Ireland  seems  to  have  consisted  of  a 
number  of  divinities  corresponding  in  a  rough  way  to  some  of  the 
gods  of  Greece.  By  the  time  of  Cormac  these  were  apparently  re- 
duced to  a  single  great  being,  symbolized  by  the  sun,  and  to  the 
numerous  and  varied  forms  of  the  sidhe,^  or  fairy  folk.  The  Druids 
acted  as  priests,  prophets,  teachers,  and  poets.  The  social  system 
was  apparently  a  crude  sort  of  communism.  The  people  were  di- 
vided into  tribes  and  families,  owning  allegiance  to  their  local  kings 
and  in  a  loose  way  to  the  high  king.    They  lived  in  houses  of  wood 

^Con'o-hlir,  or  Conor.  -Cu-hu'Ian.  ^She. 

447 


448  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

or  wattles,  indulged  in  cattle  raids,  were  judged  by  their  Brehons 
and  their  system  of  Brehon  law,  and  accorded  a  high  measure  of 
honor  to  their  women.  They  had  a  written  language,  and  were  not 
without  a  certain  skill  in  the  arts,  as  their  metal  work  and  the  great 
palace  at  Tara  bear  witness.  Poetry  was  cultivated  by  the  bardic 
schools,  and  it  may  be  that  the  so-called  ''Song  of  Amergin,"  a  six- 
teen-line  fragment  beginning,  ''I  am  the  wind  that  breathes  upon 
the  sea,"  has  come  down  to  us  from  the  pre-Christian  period.  Some 
of  the  institutions  of  the  pagan  era,  such  as  the  Brehon  law  and  the 
bardic  schools  of  poetry,  together  with  much  of  the  pagan  tempera- 
ment and  reaction  to  experience,  survived  far  into  Christian  times. 

The  missionaries.  The  literature  of  Ireland  in  the  early  period 
is  bound  up  intimately  with  the  work  of  the  missionaries  and  great 
religious  teachers.  Saint  Patrick  is  said  to  have  seen  Ireland  first 
when  taken  there  in  his  boyhood  as  a  captive  from  Britain.  He  was 
sent  from  Rome  in  later  years  to  carry  out  his  long-cherished  ambi- 
tion of  Christianizing  the  Irish  people.  The  dates  traditionally  as- 
signed to  his  labors  in  Ireland  are  432-492.  He  seems  to  have  gone 
about  with  a  considerable  following  of  helpers  preaching  the  gospel 
and  founding  churches  and  schools,  and  to  have  been  everywhere 
gladly  received.  He  established  the  famous  school  at  Armagh. 
Under  his  successors,  particularly  Saint  Columcille,  Ireland  was  by 
the  end  of  the  sixth  century  almost  wholly  Christianized,  and  was 
dotted  with  schools  and  colleges  like  that  at  Armagh,  in  which  re- 
ligious and  secular  learning  was  cultivated.  To  these  centers  of 
learning  came  students  from  all  parts  of  Europe,  and  from  them 
missionaries  and  scholars  went  forth  to  England  and  the  Continent 
— as  far  as  Switzerland  and  Galicia.  And  it  was  in  these  schools 
that  the  priceless  manuscripts  of  earh^  Irish  literature  were  col- 
lected, copied,  and  preserved. 

Poems  and  other  writings  have  been  attributed  to  Saint  Patrick 
and  Saint  Columcille,  and  it  is  possible  that  a  few  fragments  ac- 
tually composed  by  them  may  have  survived,  such  as  "The  Deer's 
Cry,"  a  short  devotional  poem  assigned  to  Saint  Patrick,  and 
the  "Farewell  to  Ireland,"  said  to  have  been  written  by  Saint 
Columcille. 


IRISH  LITEFL\TURE 


449 


The  Irish  language.  The  Irish  language  is  a  branch  of  the  Celtic 
— the  Goidelic,  or  Gaelic,  branch.  The  earliest  manuscripts  and  in- 
scriptions exhibit  two  forms,  the  Roman  and  the  Ogham.  Ogham 
seems  to  have  been  employed  only  for  inscriptions  on  stone  or  metal 
and  to  have  made  use  of  a  runelike  alphabet  based  phonetically 
on  the  Roman.  The  Irish 
script  used  in  manuscripts 
is  a  remarkably  beautiful 
modification  of  the  Ro- 
man alphabet.  The  period 
of  the  language  known  as 
Old  Irish  extends  to  the 
end  of  the  tenth  century. 
It  appears  almost  wholly 
in  notations  on  various 
continental  manuscripts ; 
there  are  also  a  very  few 
poetic  fragments,  certain 
copies  of  the  Gospels,  and 
one  or  two  other  specimens. 
Some  of  these  ancient 
manuscripts,  particularly 
those  of  the  Gospels,  are 
typical  of  the  highly  de- 
veloped art  of  illumina- 
tion, so  characteristic  of 
the  Irish  copyists.  Mid- 
dle Irish  extends  from  the 
eleventh  to  the  seven- 
teenth century,  and  Modern  Irish  from  the  seventeenth  century  to 
the  present. 

The  Irish  genius.  So  far  as  the  nature  and  peculiar  qualities  of 
the  Irish  people  are  concerned,  they  may  be  fairly  well  summed  up 
in  the  statement  that  the  Irish  are  of  Celtic  stock.  This  means  that 
they  are  builders  of  poems  rather  than  of  empires.  Fundamentally 
their  instinct  is  for  beauty  and  romance  and  not  for  prosperity. 


losqDl^fc^^^  •  •  • 

•  p*Teif»'  •  Uui»  •  •• 

•  pUIC — ^H*  ]OSCpl2«E» 

•  ciAw — ^'t'  mocchcar^ip- 

•  ezuxG    **♦  crmo^jtBBp 
»  f^m — ^-l*  }j(ruun»r© 

•  isurc — *♦  esU 

•  pure — ^ 


A  PORTION  OF  THE  GENEALOGY  OF 
JESUS  CHRIST 

From  the  "Book  of  Kells" 


450  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

They  are  generous  to  the  point  of  improvidence ;  and  a  people  of 
whom  this  is  true  cannot  be  cold  or  heartless.  The  entirely  lovable 
Goldsmith  is  typical  of  his  countrymen.  The  fondness  of  the  Irish 
people  for  nature  is  probably  deeper  and  more  consistent  than  that 
of  any  other  people  in  the  world.  There  is  no  moment  in  their  lit- 
erature in  which  this  sentiment  is  not  warm  and  sincere.  Moreover, 
in  no  other  people  is  the  feeling  for  the  supernatural  so  intense.  This 
is  also  a  part  of  their  Gaelic  heritage.  There  is  a  strange  mingling 
of  the  old  paganism  and  the  new  Christianity  in  much  of  their  best 
literature  and  in  many  of  their  everyday  beliefs  and  customs.  They 
have  refused  to  turn  the  old  gods  out  of  doors.  They  keep  them  in 
that  charming  world  of  the  fairies, — the  ''good  people," — who 
constitute  so  vital  a  link  between  the  visible  and  the  invisible 
universe.  Elves,  banshees,  leprechauns,  haunted  raths  and  streams 
and  caves  and  shores,  are  everywhere  in  Ireland,  today  as  in  the 
distant  past.  "We  exchange  civilities  with  the  world  beyond,"  says 
Yeats.  And  again  he  speaks,  in  his  analysis  of  the  Irish  spirit,  of 
"  the  ancient  worship  of  nature,  and  that  troubled  ecstasy  before  her, 
tliat  certainty  of  all  beautiful  places  being  haunted,"  which  a  real 
reverence  for  nature  brings  with  it.  This  is  true  of  the  whole  course 
of  Irish  endeavor  and  experience.    In  the  ancient  records  we  find : 

"One  day  the  young  poet  Nede  fared  forth  till  he  stood  on  the  margin 
of  the  sea,  for  the  poets  believed  the  brink  of  the  water  to  be  the  place 
of  poetic  inspiration.  He  heard  a  sound  in  the  wave,  even  a  chant  of 
wailing  and  sadness,  and  he  marveled  thereat."^ 

And  writing  but  yesterday  by  comparison,  Synge  truly  enough 
makes  Ireland  the  "playboy  of  the  western  world,"  representing  it 
as  clinging  obstinately  to  romance  in  the  face  of  much  ridicule 
and  at  the  sacrifice  of  much  advancement  in  practical  and  worldly- 
things. 

The  Saga-Romance  Cycles 

Date.  The  real  greatness  of  early  Irish  literature  lies  in  the 

splendid  mass  of  heroic  and  legendary  tales  known  as  saga-romance, 

dealing  with  the  events  and  characters  of  the  pre-Christian  age.   It 

i"Book  of  Leinster." 


IRISH  LITERATURE  451 

is  difficult  to  determine  the  date  of  this  literature.  We  have  no 
manuscripts  antedating  the  eleventh  century.  But  it  is  practically 
certain  that  many  of  these  are  transcriptions  of  earlier  copies  going 
back  as  far  as  the  eighth  and  even  the  seventh  century.  Moreover, 
most  of  the  tales  were  doubtless  set  down  from  versions  that  had 
been  transmitted  orally  for  several  centuries  earlier.  It  is  possible, 
therefore,  that  we  may  date  the  original  composition  of  some  of  this 
material  in  pre-Christian  times.  The  authorship  of  it  is  quite  un- 
known. There  is  extant  enough  of  it  to  fill  several  thousand  pages, 
and  this  is  only  a  small  fraction  of  the  original  quantity.  The  rest 
has  perished. 

The  Mythological  cycle.  The  saga-romance  material  falls  into 
three  great  cycles — the  ^Mythological,  the  Red  Branch,  and  the 
Fenian  cycle.  The  stories  in  the  Mythological  cycle  are  relatively 
few  in  number.  They  deal  with  the  vast,  remote,  shadowy  conflicts 
of  the  pagan  gods.  The  most  important  sagas  in  this  cycle  are  those 
of  the  first  and  the  second  ''Battle  of  Moytura,"  of  the  "Chil- 
dren of  Tuireann,"  and  of  the  "Children  of  Lir."  The  substance  of 
the  tales  is  more  or  less  confused,  the  characters  are  gigantic,  and 
the  characterization  is  formless  and  grotesque. 

The  Red  Branch  cycle  is  known  also  as  the  heroic  cycle,  as  the 
Ultonian  or  Ulster  cycle,  and  as  the  Cuchulain  cycle.  The  events 
which  it  chronicles  are  assumed  to  have  taken  place  about  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Christian  Era.  It  is  by  far  the  finest  of  the  three 
cycles.  The  characterization  is  much  more  definite,  and  the  events 
are  more  orderly  and  better  connected  than  in  the  ISIythological 
cycle.  In  form  the  romances  in  all  three  cycles  are  mingled  prose 
and  verse.  They  doubtless  consisted  originally  of  detached  or 
loosely  connected  poems,  the  gaps  between  which  were  in  later 
times  filled  in  with  prose. 

Cuchulain  is  so  great  a  figure  in  ancient  Irish  literature  that  a 
brief  survey  of  his  adventures  and  exploits  will  be  in  place. 

We  have  first  a  series  of  separate  tales  about  him.  One  of  these  tells 
of  his  mysterious  birth  and  parentage  (like  those  of  Arthur) ;  another 
tells  of  his  wooing  of  Emer;  another  of  his  rearing,  including  his  jour- 
ney to  Alba  (Scotland)  to  the  palace  of  the  wise  woman  Scathach, 


452  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

whose  (laughter  Uathach  falls  in  love  with  him;  another  of  the  woman 
warrior  Aoife,'  whom  Cuchulain  overcomes  and  forces  to  marry  him, 
reminding  us  of  the  Brynhild  story;  another  of  their  son  Conlaoch, 
who  is  slain  by  his  father  Cuchulain,  being  recognized  only  at  the  mo- 
ment of  his  death— strikingly  similar  to  the  stories  of  Sohrab  and  Rus- 
tum  and  of  Hildebrand.  ^he  second  group  of  tales  forms  part  of  the 
loosely  connected  series  known  as  the  "Tain  Bo  Cualnge"^  ("Cattle 
Raid  of  Cooley").  These  tales  recount  the  raising  of  a  vast  army 
by  Queen  Mcve  and  King  OilioU  of  Connacht;  the  day-by-day  single 
combats  between  Cuchulain  and  the  warriors  of  Connacht;  the  final 
unwilling  combat  between  Cuchulain  and  his  friend  Ferdiad,  whom 
Queen  Meve  has  inveigled  into  the  enterprise  and  who,  after  a  three 
days'  struggle,  is  slain  by  Cuchulain ;  and  the  great  battle  on  the  plains 
of  Meath,  in  which  Meve  and  Oilioll  are  defeated.'  The  third  group  of 
tales  centers  in  the  death  of  Cuchulain.  Queen  Meve,  his  vindictive 
enemy,  makes  use  of  the  witchcraft  of  the  three  daughters  of  Calatin. 
One  of  the  witches,  assuming  the  form  and  voice  of  Niamh,^  the  sweet- 
heart of  Cuchulain,  lures  him  to  the  field,  where,  after  many  exploits 
of  valor,  he  is  slain  by  Lewy.  Conal  Cearnach,  his  friend,  afterward 
avenges  him  and  brings  his  head,  together  with  those  of  his  enemies, 
to  his  wife,  Emer,  at  Emania,  who  utters  her  lament:  '"Love  of  my 
soul,  O  friend,  O  gentle  sweetheart,  and  0  thou  one  choice  of  the  men 
of  the  earth,  many  is  the  woman  envied  me  thee  until  now,  and  I  shall 
not  live  after  thee';  and  her  soul  departed  out  of  her,  and  she  herself 
and  Cuchulain  were  laid  in  one  grave  by  Conal."'* 

The  second  great  character  of  the  Red  Branch  cycle  is  Deirdre.^ 
The  story  of  Deirdre  constitutes  the  finest  flower  of  early  Irish  lit- 
erature. She  has  been  called  the  Helen  of  Ireland,  and  the  tragic 
pathos  of  her  love  and  death  has  been  almost  endlessly  rehandled 
by  later  writers — Ferguson,  Yeats,  Russell,  and  Synge  among  them. 

The  story  recounts  the  birth  of  Deirdre,  the  daughter  of  the  chief 
bard  of  King  Conchobhar;  the  prediction  by  the  seer  Cathfaidh  of  evils 
to  come  because  of  her ;  Conchobhar's  careful  rearing  of  her  with  the 
idea  of  making  her  his  wife ;  the  charming  episode  of  her  falling  in  love 
with  Naoise,"  one  of  the  three  sons  of  Usnach,  of  their  flight  to  Scot- 
land, and  of  their  happy  days  there;  Conchobhar's  embassy  under  Fergus 

JE'fa.  3]sjg'av.  sDar'dra. 

-  Tawn  Bo  Hool-n'ya.  ■» Translation  by  Douglas  Hyde.  ^Ne'sha. 


IRISH  LITEIL\TURE  453 

to  offer  peace  and  entreat  their  return ;  Deirdre's  premonition  of  foul 
play,  and  her  touching  song  of  farewell  to  Scotland ;  their  coming  back 
to  Erin,  the  treacherous  slaughter  of  the  three  sons  of  Usnach,  and  the 
lament  and  suicide  of  Deirdre. 

The  Fenian  cycle.  The  Fenian,  or  Ossianic,  cyde  deals  with 
events  that  are  supposed  to  have  happened  some  two  hundred  years 
after  those  of  the  Red  Branch  cycle.  The  two  outstanding  figures 
in  this  cycle  are  Finn  mac  Cumhail^  and  his  son  Ossian,  warriors 
and  poets,  the  center  of  the  group  known  as  the  Fenians,  constitut- 
ing a  kind  of  Irish  Round  Table.  The  cycle  is  quite  distinct  from 
the  Red  Branch  group  of  tales  and  is  more  popular  in  its  appeal, 
touching  the  common  life  of  the  people,  as  the  more  aristocratic 
Red  Branch  stories  do  not.  The  Fenian  tales  have  little  of  the  epic 
sweep,  elevation,  and  mystery  to  be  found  in  the  earlier  cycle.  They 
present  the  curious  spectacle  of  a  continued  growth — the  earliest 
stories  going  back  probably  to  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries, 
and  the  later  material  consisting  not  merely  of  copies,  expansions, 
and  elaborations  but  actually  of  new  tales  built  up  on  minor  in- 
cidents or  suggestions  contained  in  the  earlier  ones.  Down  to  the 
eighteenth  century  Irish  narrators  were  retelling  and  recreating 
Fenian  stories.  For  a  period  of  a  thousand  years,  therefore,  this 
cycle  has  been  in  process  of  development,  and  there  are  even  today 
circulating  in  Ireland  popular  tales  of  Finn  that  have  never  been 
reduced  to  writing. 

We  can  mention  only  the  most  important  of  the  Fenian  sagas. 
The  longest  is  the  ''Colloquy  of  the  Ancients,"  which  in  fragmentary 
dialogue  form  represents  the  bards  Ossian  and  Caoilte-  in  their  old 
age,  the  last  survivors  of  the  Fenian  band,  narrating  to  Saint  Patrick 
the  legends  and  poems  connected  with  the  hills,  streams,  and  shores 
of  Ireland.  INIore  appealing  as  a  story  is  the  romance  of  the  "Pur- 
suit of  Diarmuid  and  Grainne,"-'  a  love  story  resembling  in  some 
respects  that  of  Deirdre,  but  of  lesser  artistic  merit.  Grainne,  the 
daughter  of  King  Cormac,  on  the  eve  of  her  marriage  to  Finn  mac 
Cumhail,  falls  in  love  with  Diarmuid  and  takes  flight  with  him. 
They  are  pursued  by  Finn,  who,  after  many  adventures,  contrives 

^Cool.  -Ciilt'ya  (French  ?/).  ^Gran'ya. 


454  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

the  death  of  Diarmuid  by  means  of  a  wild  boar,  and  later  regains 
the  love  of  the  somewhat  changeable  Grainne  for  himself. 

The  three  medieval  cycles  constitute  what  may  properly  be  called 
the  high-water  mark  in  the  history  of  Irish  literature.  Their  ma- 
terial never  reached  the  point  of  true  epic  structure:  it  is  often 
rather  formless  and  ill  organized.  Especially  in  some  of  its  later 
manifestations,  it  is  long-winded  and  rhetorical.  But  in  the  best 
tales  of  the  Red  Branch  and  Fenian  cycles  it  possesses  in  its  loftier 
passages  a  dignity  and  elevation  of  tone,  and  in  its  softer  moments 
a  charm  and  delicacy  and  pathos,  that  are  rarely  surpassed  in  any 
literature.  It  is  not  until  we  come  to  the  brilliant  literary  revival 
at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth 
century  that  we  have  anything  to  record  that  can  approach  the 
excellence  of  the  Red  Branch  and  Fenian  cycles. 

Short  religious  and  devotional  poems  are  scattered  throughout 
the  early  Christian  period,  some  of  them  of  exquisite  fineness  and 
beauty,  as  shown,  for  example,  in  the  following  typical  stanza  from 
the  "Song  of  Manchan  the  Hermit" : 

"Twelve  in  the  church  to  chant  the  hours,  kneeling  there  twain  and 
twain ; 
And  I  before,  near  the  chapel  door,  listening  their  low  refrain."^ 

The  bardic  schools.  It  may  be  well  at  this  point  to  give  some 
indication  of  the  Irish  metrical  forms  and  of  the  poetic  schools 
which  practiced  them.  In  the  earliest  fragments  of  Irish  poetry 
there  is  no  rime,  but  in  fragments  dating  from  the  seventh  century, 
and  even  earlier,  rime  is  employed  ;  and  certain  scholars  even  go  so 
far  as  to  claim  for  Ireland  the  invention  of  rime.  It  has  always 
been  an  important  element  in  Irish  versification.  The  earliest  form 
was  assonance.  V^ersification  was  governed  by  a  very  complex  sys- 
tem of  rules,  constituting  an  intricate  metrical  code.  The  bardic 
schools  existed  alongside  the  religious  foundations  for  nearly  a 
thousand  years.  A  bard  of  the  first  rank  had  to  spend  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  years  in  study,  master  over  three  hundred  types  of  verse 
form,  and  memorize  three  hundred  and  fifty  stories. 

1  Translation  by  Eleanor  Hull. 


ST.   MATTHEW 
An  illustration  from  the  "  Book  of  Kclls" 


4s6  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Minor  Writers 

In  spite  of  the  destruction  by  the  Danes  of  the  schools  and  mon- 
asteries and  of  the  manuscripts  contained  in  them,  the  Danish 
period  (795-1014)  shows  several  worthy  names.  Gormly,  the 
daughter  of  Flann  Siona,  king  of  Meath,  was  a  poet  of  high  talent, 
as  appears  in  her  "Lament  for  Niall,"  her  husband.  Mac  Laig,  the 
chief  bard  of  Brian  Boru,  has  left  us  a  description  of  the  battle  of 
Clontarf  (fought  in  10 14),  in  which  Brian  and  most  of  his  chiefs 
were  slain;  and  also  a  beautiful  "Lament  for  Kincora,"  the  palace 
of  Brian,  left  desolate  after  the  battle.  The  pathetic  monologue 
entitled  "The  Old  Woman  of  Beare"  goes  back  probably  to  the 
eleventh  century.   The  first  stanza  runs  as  follows : 

"I  find  them  not, 
Those  sunny  sands  I  knew  so  well  of  yore ; 
Only  the  surf's  sad  roar  sounds  up  to  me — 
My  tide  will  turn  no  more."^ 

In  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  occurred  the  compilation  of 
the  most  important  of  those  rich  collections  of  manuscripts  in  which 
the  bulk  of  the  saga-romances  are  preserved,  among  them  the  "Leab- 
har  na  h-Uidhre"-  ("Book  of  the  Dun  Cow"),  the  "Book  of  Lein- 
ster,"  the  "Book  of  Hymns,"  and  the  marvelous  "Book  of  Kells," 
referred  to  by  Douglas  Hyde  as  the  crowning  glory  of  Irish  manu- 
script illumination.  The  "Saltair-na-Rann"  ("Rann  Psalter"),  a 
book  of  devotional  poems,  some  of  high  merit,  is  dated  by  most 
scholars  in  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  century.  During  the  four 
centuries  following  the  Anglo-Norman  conquest — the  thirteenth, 
fourteenth,  fifteenth,  and  sixteenth — there  is  almost  nothing  of  im- 
portance to  record  in  the  field  of  literary  production. 

A  gradual  decline  of  the  bardic  schools  and  of  the  Irish  language 
as  a  literary  medium  took  place  during  the  seventeenth  and  eight- 
eenth centuries.  This  period,  however,  witnessed  the  production, 
or  at  least  transcription,  of  the  Ossianic  poems,  w^hich  must  be  care- 

1  Translation  by  Eleanor  Hull.  ^Lo'war  na  we'ra. 


IRISH  LITERATURE  457 

fully  distinguished  from  the  Ossianic,  or  Fenian,  romance  cycle. 
The  poems  were  originally  composed  at  intervals  during  the  whole 
period  between  the  close  of  the  Danish  rule  and  the  mid-eighteenth 
century.  Nothing  is  known  of  their  authorship.  As  to  quantity,  they 
have  been  estimated  to  include  from  eighty  to  a  hundred  thousand 
lines,  only  a  portion  of  which  has  seen  the  light  of  publication  in 
book  form.  These  poems  are  largely  narrative — the  only  consider- 
able body  of  Irish  poetry  of  which  this  is  true.  They  deal  mainly 
with  the  combats  of  the  Fenian  heroes,  their  struggles  with  mon- 
sters, their  enchantments,  wanderings,  hardships,  etc.  Some  pas- 
sages show  a  very  line  lyrical  tone,  such  as  the  short  poems  on  ''The 
Blackbird  of  Derrycarn"  and  "The  Pastimes  of  Finn." 

The  final  glow  of  the  Classical  school — the  writers  in  the  ancient 
bardic  meters — comes  in  the  work  of  Lughaidh  ^  O'Clery,  Eochaidh- 
O'Hussey,  and  the  most  notable  writer  of  the  group,  Teig  Dall 
O'Higgin.  Much  of  the  poetry  of  these  writers  has  for  its  theme  a 
lament  over  the  harsh  rule  of  the  English  or  indignant  resentment 
against  it. 

With  surprising  swiftness,  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  the  old  system  of  poetics  was  displaced  by  a  new  one, 
originating  apparently  with  the  Gaels  of  Scotland.  It  involved  a 
great  simplification  of  the  rules,  ignored  the  requirements  of  ap- 
prenticeship and  official  status,  chose  its  subject  matter  freely,  and 
expressed  itself  with  refreshing  spontaneity  and  naturalness.  Tech- 
nically the  change  was  from  assonance  to  regular  rime,  and  to  a 
meter  based  on  accent  rather  than  on  the  number  of  syllables  in  the 
line.  In  other  words,  the  new  versification  was  based  upon  the  mod- 
ern system  of  metrics.  Some  of  the  poetry  in  this  modern  form  re- 
veals a  musical  use  of  words  that  has  seldom  been  surpassed.  We 
may  note  the  miscellaneous  poems  of  John  O'Xeaghtan,  the  grace- 
ful songs  of  Turlough  O'Carolan,  "The  Midnight  Court"  of  Brian 
mac  Giolla  Meidhre, — a  charming  fairy  fantasy, — the  witty  verses 
of  Owen  Roe  O'Sullivan,  and  the  appealing  short  poems  of  the  blind 
poet  Anthony  Raftery,  who  died  in  1835.  Here  are  two  stanzas 
from  one  of  his  poems : 

^Lu'hi.  2Y6'he. 


4S8  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"I  am  Raflcry  the  poet, 
Full  of  hope  and  love, 
With  eyes  that  have  no  light, 

With  gentleness  that  has  no  misery- 

"  Going  west  upon  my  pilgrimage 
By  the  light  of  my  heart. 
Feeble  and  tired 
To  the  end  of  my  road."^ 


Nineteenth-Century  Writers 

Poetry.  We  have  now  to  consider  the  Irish  literature  written  in 
the  English  language  in  the  years  following  the  extinction  of  the 
Irish  language  as  a  literary  medium.  We  may  eliminate  from  our 
survey  such  writers  as  Goldsmith,  Burke,  Sheridan,  Lecky,  and 
Oscar  Wilde,  who  are  practically  always  thought  of  as  figures  in 
English  rather  than  Irish  literature.  A  considerable  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century  was  occupied  by  the  political  movement  for 
nationalism,  and  the  literary  activity  during  these  years  became 
either  an  appendage  to  this  movement  or  was  pushed  into  the  back- 
ground. In  the  early  years  of  the  century  anonymous  ballads  in- 
spired by  the  patriotic  motive,  such  as  "The  Wearin'  o'  the  Green," 
"The  Boyne  Water,"  and  "The  Shan  Van  Vocht,"  achieved  a  wide 
popularity.  Thomas  Moore's  "Irish  Melodies"  can  hardly  be  said 
to  rise  much  above  the  level  of  pleasant  mediocrity,  though  they 
show  a  skilled  command  of  metrical  form  and  have  in  not  a  few  in- 
stances become  popular  as  songs — such,  for  example,  as  "The  Last 
Rose  of  Summer,"  and  "Believe  me  if  All  Those  Endearing  Young 
Charms."  Of  the  "Young  Ireland"  group  of  poets,  active  from 
1840  to  about  i860,  James  Clarence  Mangan  (1803-1849)  alone 
shows  a  genuine  appreciation  of  the  rich  storehouse  of  old  Irish 
literature.  He  is  the  one  nineteenth-century  poet  of  superior  genius 
and  accomplishment  prior  to  the  great  names  of  the  Celtic  revival. 
He  is  thought  of  by  the  poets  of  the  later  movement  as  spiritually 
akin  to  themselves  and  indeed  almost  as  the  father  of  the  revival, 

1  Translation  by  Douglas  Hyde, 


IRISH  LITERATURE 


459 


Some  of  his  poems  and  some  of  the  aspects  of  his  life  show  a  spirit 
resembling  that  of  Edgar  Allan  Poe.  His  ''Dark  Rosaleen"  is  a 
finely  poetic  elaboration  of  the  old  Irish  "Roisin  Dubh"^   (the 


TRINITY  COLLEGE,  DL'BLIN 

''Dark  Rose''),  which  makes  use  of  the  flower  so  often  used  by  the 
poets  as  a  symbol  for  Ireland.  One  stanza  of  Siangan's  version 
of  this  poem  is  as  follows : 

"I  could  scale  the  blue  air, 

I  could  plough  the  high  hills, 
0,  I  could  kneel  all  night  in  prayer, 

To  heal  your  many  ills  ! 
And  one  beamy  smile  from  you 

Would  float  like  light  between 
My  toils  and  me,  my  own,  my  true, 

My  Dark  Rosaleen  !  " 


1 R6'  shen  dQ. 


46o  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Sir  Samuel  Ferguson,  while  less  of  a  poet  than  Mangan,  was  a 
scholar  of  sound  attainments  and  in  his  "Lays  of  the  Western  Gael " 
achieved  excellent  translations  from  the  Red  Branch  cycle. 

Fiction.  The  mention  of  a  very  few  names  will  cover  the  field 
of  Irish  fiction  until  well  past  the  middle  of  the  century.  Maria 
Edgeworth  (1767-1849),  in  'Xastle  Rackrent,"  "The  Absentee," 
and  "Ormond,"  has  given  us  some  vivid  portrayals  of  the  Irish 
gentry  of  her  times.  Charles  Lever  (1806-1872)  has  pictured  in 
"Harry  Lorrequer,"  "Charles  O'Malley,"  and  numerous  other 
novels  the  roistering,  swaggering  young  Irish  blade.  Samuel  Lover 
( 1 797-1868),  with  somewhat  more  of  sympathy  and  delicacy,  re- 
veals in  such  novels  as  "Handy  Andy"  and  "Rory  O'More"  some 
well-drawn  characters  of  peasant  life.  Both  these  writers,  however, 
may  be  called  the  sponsors  of  the  "comedy  Irishman,"  that  rather 
shallow  and  unreal  combination  of  brogue  and  blarney  that  has  so 
long  misrepresented  the  race.  The  brothers  John  and  Michael 
Banim  find  their  themes  in  the  historical  and  patriotic  aspects  of 
Irish  life  and  the  hard  lot  of  the  peasantry  under  English  rule. 
Their  best  work  appears  in  "Tales  of  the  O'Hara  Family,"  "The 
Boyne  Water,"  "The  Peep  o'  Day,"  and  "The  Croppy."  William 
Carleton  (1794-1869),  one  of  the  finest  and  truest  interpreters  of 
Irish  life  in  this  period,  deals  for  the  most  part  with  the  peasantry, 
the  hedge  schoolmaster,  and  the  bitterness  of  the  strife  between 
Orangeman  and  Papist.  Such  pictures  as  he  presents  in  "Traits  and 
Stories  of  the  Irish  Peasantry,"  "The  Black  Prophet,"  and  "Valen- 
tine McClutchy"  have  a  vividness  and  reality  that  show  a  master 
hand.  The  most  important  novelist  of  middle-class  life  in  this  period 
was  Gerald  Grifiin.  His  best  novel,  "The  Collegians,"  is  a  good 
reflection  of  the  outstanding  types  of  character  of  the  class  with 
whom  he  deals.  Griffin's  poetry  also  deserves  praise,  especially 
some  of  his  love  lyrics.  Charles  Kickham,  who  suffered  four  years' 
imprisonment  for  devotion  to  the  cause  of  Young  Ireland,  wrote 
novels  of  considerable  power,  depicting  peasant  types  and  rural  life 
in  general.  Two  of  his  best  novels  are  " Sally  Cavanagh "  and  "  For 
the  Old  Land." 


IRISH  LITERATURE  461 

O'Grady  and  Sigerson.  Much  of  the  inspiration  for  the  later 
revival  of  literature  in  Ireland  traces  back  to  Standish  O'Grady, 
who,  in  1880,  under  the  commonplace  title  of  "A  History  of  Ire- 
land," gave  the  world  an  account  of  the  heroic  myths  of  Cuchulain 
and  Finn.  He  approached  his  theme  in  a  mood  of  ardent  poetic  en- 
thusiasm and  has  clothed  the  old  legends  in  such  splendid  imagery 
as  to  make  his  appeal  well-nigh  irresistible  to  later  Irish  writers. 
It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  virtually  all  the  writers  of  the 
Celtic  revival  owe  a  very  real  and  profound  debt  to  O'Grady, 
whose  influence  upon  their  work  is  apparent  in  many  ways.  Shar- 
ing to  some  extent  with  O'Grady  the  honor  of  reviving  the  spell  of 
Irish  antiquity,  George  Sigerson  spans  the  chasm  between  early 
and  late  with  his  "Poets  and  Poetry  of  ISIunster"  (i860)  and  his 
"Bards  of  the  Gael  and  Gall"  (1897),  Sigerson 's  merit  consists 
in  the  wide  range  of  his  material,  his  fine  absorption  of  the  spirit 
and  tone  of  his  originals,  and  his  remarkable  skill  in  reproducing  in 
his  translations  the  verse  forms  of  the  old  poets. 

Historical  background.  The  course  of  Irish  literature  is  marked 
by  two  high  tides  of  poetic  achievement — that  of  the  early  saga- 
romance  period,  prior  to  the  Danish  invasions,  and  that  of  the 
Celtic  revival  (presently  to  be  spoken  of),  a  manifestation  of  the  last 
thirty  years.  The  intervening  centuries,  particularly  those  of  the 
English  attempts  at  domination  in  the  island,  have  been  relatively, 
and  at  times  almost  wholly,  barren.  From  the  time  of  Henry  II, 
toward  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century,  to  that  of  Gladstone,  toward 
the  close  of  the  nineteenth,  Ireland  has  been  the  scene  of  repeated 
attempts  at  conquest  by  the  English  and  of  stubborn  resistance  and 
rebellion  by  the  Irish.  Thoughtful  Englishmen  are  not  proud  of 
the  record  of  the  British  government  in  its  dealings  with  Ireland — 
dealings  which  have  been  too  largely  marked  by  shortsighted  coer- 
cion, attempted  suppression  of  the  Irish  language,  and  undisguised 
contempt  for  Irish  art  and  culture.  It  is  surprising  that  under  such 
a  regime  literature  should  have  survived  at  all ;  but  poetry  has  so 
firm  a  growth  in  the  Irish  temperament  and  character  that  even 
under  the  stress  of  political  turmoil  it  has  never  been  quite  silent 


462  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

and  has  often  burst  forth  with  surprising  vitality.  Every  Irish  in- 
surrection has  had  its  poets  as  well  as  its  fighters— indeed  they  have 
commonly  been  one  and  the  same.  But  the  troubled  political  his- 
tory of  Ireland  is  a  sufficient  explanation  of  the  comparatively  low 
level  of  her  literary  production  during  the  years  in  question. 

The  Celtic  Revival 

Beginnings.  The  Celtic  revival,  or  Irish  literary  revival,  as  it  is 
sometimes  called,  was  a  thoroughly  conscious  propagandist  move- 
ment. It  was  represented  by  a  manifesto  of  typical  verse  published 
in  1888  and  entitled  "Poems  and  Ballads  of  Young  Ireland."  It 
was  backed  by  such  organizations  as  the  Irish  Literary  Society 
(London)  and  the  Irish  National  Literary  Society  (Dublin),  both 
founded  in  1892.  It  was  accompanied  by  a  persistent  attempt  at  a 
restoration  of  the  Irish  language,  in  which  Douglas  Hyde  and  the 
Gaelic  League  have  been  especially  active.  Dr.  Hyde's  best  work 
consists  of  poems,  tales,  and  short  plays  written  in  Gaelic.  He  has, 
however,  written  a  good  deal  in  English,  including  thoroughly  ade- 
quate translations  of  folk  songs  and  stories,  such  as  his  remarkable 
volume  "Love  Songs  of  Connacht."  Among  the  other  writers  who 
were  important  in  originating  the  revival  were  John  Todhunter, 
William  Larminie,  and  Katherine  Tynan  Hinkson. 

Yeats.  The  most  conspicuous  and  one  of  the  most  influential 
names  in  the  Irish  literary  revival  is  that  of  William  Butler  Yeats 
(1866-  ).  In  some  of  his  earlier  work  he  was  under  the  spell 
of  Spenser  and  Shelley,  but  with  "  The  Wanderings  of  Oisin  "  ( 1 889) 
he  entered  upon  his  real  inheritance  as  the  chief  spokesman  for 
poetic  Ireland,  in  a  style  that  was  an  original  and  adequate  expres- 
sion of  the  Irish  genius  and  not  merely  a  reflected  light.  A  very 
large  part  of  Yeats's  poetry  deals  with  the  legendary  period  or  with 
popular  beliefs  and  customs  of  Ireland.  It  is  intensely  national,  but 
in  the  poetic  rather  than  the  political  sense.  Perhaps  the  most 
satisfying  of  his  lyrics  are  those  included  in  the  "Poems"  of  1895, 
inspired  by  the  hills  and  streams  and  peasant  tales  of  the  country- 
side.   One  of  the  most  popular  and  deeply  poetic  of  his  short  poems 


IRISH  LITERATURE 


463 


is  that  one  in  which  his  heart  turns  longingly  from  city  streets  to  a 
well-remembered  and  deeply  loved  Irish  scene — "The  Lake  Isle  of 
Innisfree."  Notable  also  for  their  exquisite  lyric  quality  are  "The 
Song  of  Wandering' Aengus,"  "Down  by  the  Salley  Gardens," 
"  When  You  are  Old,"  "  The 
White  Birds,"  "The  Rose 
of  the  World,"  and  "The 
Hosting  of  the  Sidhe."  The 
fine  and  direct  appeal  of 
these  earlier  poems  was 
later  displaced  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  by  Yeats 's 
experiments  in  mysticism. 
The  poems  in  the  volume 
entitled  "The  Wind  among 
the  Reeds"  (1899)  and  in 
his  later  volumes  of  poetry 
are  often  obscure  to  the 
average  reader. 

The  plays  of  Yeats  are 
more  poetic  than  dramatic. 
They  are  very  impressive, 
with  a  strange,  haunting 
depth  of  meaning  in  which 
action  plays  a  decidedly 
minor  part.  "The  Land  of 

Heart's  Desire  "  is  based  on  the  fairy  theme  of  the  young  bride  stolen 
away  by  the  elves.  "Cathleen  ni  Houlihan"  pictures  the  appeal  of 
Ireland  in  the  stormy  days  of  i798toyoung  Michael  Gillane,who,  on 
the  eve  of  his  wedding,  answers  this  higher  call.  "Shadowy  Waters," 
"Deirdre,"  and  "On  Baile's  Strand"  deal  with  the  heroic  age,  the 
last  with  the  death  of  Cuchulain.  Yeats  has  recast  rather  than 
transcribed  these  legends  and  tales — has  made  them  stand  for  the 
eternal  quest  of  the  soul  for  beauty  or  supreme  reality.  The  poetic 
charm  of  the  plays — for  they  are  all  written  in  poetic  form — is  the 
same  as  that  which  characterizes  his  best  nondramatic  poetry :  the 


WILLIAM   BUTLER  YEATS 


464  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

almost  magical  recapture  of  the  far-away  mystery  and  spell  of 
Celtic  tradition,  so  moving  in  its  appeal. 

Veats's  prose  writings  include  transcripts  of  popular  tales,  and 
essays  on  literary  and  mystical  subjects,  thus  paralleling  in  a  gen- 
eral way  his  poetical  work.  "The  Celtic  Twilight"  is  a  collection 
of  tales  dealing  with  the  supernatural,  taken  down  by  Yeats  him- 
self from  the  recital  by  Sligo  and  Galway  peasants.  These  tales 
have  all  the  unaffected  charm  of  substance  and  speech  that  char- 
acterizes the  "Poems"  of  1895.  In  "Ideas  of  Good  and  Evil"  and 
"The  Cutting  of  an  Agate"  we  have  the  best  of  Yeats's  essays. 
Those  on  literary  themes  are  admirably  clear  and  direct,  while  those 
dealing  with  ethical  and  religious  subjects  are  in  his  confirmed  vein 
of  shadowy  mysticism. 

The  importance  of  Yeats  lies  less  in  his  direct  influence  upon  the 
literary  revival  or  upon  the  national  theater  than  in  his  having  freed 
Ireland  from  the  tutelage  of  English  poetry  and  proved  that  she  has 
a  poetic  voice  of  her  own.  He  is  among  the  greatest  of  living  poets, 
and  his  service  to  literature  in  his  own  land  is  broader  and  deeper 
than  his  connection  with  any  special  movement  or  group. 

Other  poets  of  the  revival.  George  W.  Russell  (1867—  ), 
writing  under  the  pen  name  of  "^E,"  is  the  outstanding  exponent  of 
mysticism  in  the  Irish  literary  revival.  He  is  a  mystic  in  the  sense 
in  which  Yeats  is  not — his  visions  are  to  him  realities,  not  imagined 
pictures  made  to  symbolize  an  idea.  His  poetry  gives  expression  to 
the  theme  of  direct  and  immediate  absorption  into  the  divine  life. 
He  loves  the  twilight  borderland  and  dwells  always  on  the  frontier 
of  the  undiscovered  country.  He  is  wholly  unaffected  and  humble, 
and  while  he  has  not  Yeats's  wide  command  of  poetic  resources,  he 
is  as  truly  a  poet,  and  one  of  the  most  notable  in  the  movement. 
His  tendency  to  transfuse  all  common  things  with  the  infinite  light 
is  well  e.xpressed  in  one  of  his  lyrics  entitled  "The  Hermit,"  two 
stanzas  of  which  are  as  follows : 

".•\nd  the  ancient  mystery 

Holds  its  hands  out  day  by  day, 
Takes  a  chair  and  croons  with  me 
By  my  cabin  built  of  clay. 


IRISH  LITERATURE  465 

"When  the  dusky  shadow  flits, 
By  the  chimney  nook  I  see 
Where  the  old  enchanter  sits, 
Smiles,  and  waves,  and  beckons  me."^ 

Seumas  O'Sullivan's  "Poems"  (191 2)  is  one  of  the  most  satisfying 
volumes  of  contemporary  Irish  poetry.  It  is  Celtic  in  the  char- 
acteristic qualities  of  shadowy,  wistful  suggestion  and  strange  mel- 
ancholy. Joseph  Campbell  is  unsurpassed  in  such  themes  as  those  of 
humble  peasant  life  and  rural  scenes.    He  says : 

"The  silence  of  unlabored  fields 
Lies  like  a  judgment  on  the  air : 
A  human  voice  is  never  heard  : 
The  sighing  grass  is  everywhere — 
The  sighing  grass,  the  shadowed  sky, 
The  cattle  crying  wearily  !  " 

Campbell  is  also  perhaps  the  most  successful  of  the  Irish  poets  in 
his  handling  of  the  strange  and  often  fantastic  folk  tales  of  the 
Christian  faith  as  they  have  evolved  in  the  mind  of  the  Irish 
peasant.  Mrs.  Seumas  MacManus  ("Ethna  Carbery"),  in  her 
"Four  Winds  of  Erinn,"  has  sounded  some  of  the  dominant  notes 
of  Irish  nature  and  character.  Her  poems  strike  a  happy  medium 
between  the  popular  tone  of  the  Young  Ireland  nationalist  senti- 
ment and  the  suggestive  and  symbolic  quality  of  the  group  cen- 
tering in  Yeats  and  Russell. 

It  must  not  be  assumed  that  the  poets  of  the  revival  are  not  in 
sympathy  with  the  nationalist  movement  in  Ireland.  Most  of  them 
are ;  but  they  feel  that  poetry  fmds  a  better  soil  and  a  more  con- 
genial atmosphere  in  the  romantic  past  of  Ireland  than  in  its  dis- 
cordant present.  The  Sinn  Fein-  movement  has  its  poets,  as  has 
been  true  of  every  similar  movement  in  Irish  history.  The  Easter 
insurrection  of  1916  resulted  in  the  execution,  among  others,  of  three 
Irish  poets  of  promise — Padraic  Pearse,  Thomas  MacDonagh,  and 
Joseph  Plunkett. 

iThis  selection,  from  "Collected  Poems,"  by  George  William  Russell,  is 
used  by  permission  of  The  Macmillan  Company.  -Shin  fan. 


466  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  Irish  theater.  The  most  striking  manifestation  of  the  Irish 
literary  revival  has  been  on  its  dramatic  side.  The  first  aspect  of 
the  movement  was  centered  in  the  foundation  and  development  of 
the  Irish  Literary  Theater  in  Dublin.  Yeats,  Edward  Martyn, 
George  INIoore,  Lady  Gregory,  and  other  writers  constituted  the 
group  back  of  this  enterprise,  which  was  aimed  primarily  at  achiev- 
ing conditions  under  which  dramatic  work  of  high  merit  might  be 
fostered  without  subservience  to  the  commercial  element.  The  pro- 
gram was  inaugurated  in  1899.  The  most  notable  playwright  of 
the  group,  aside  from  Yeats,  was  Edward  Martyn.  ''The  Heather 
Field,"  "Maeve,"  and  "The  Enchanted  Sea"  are  among  his  best 
plays.  His  work  consists  chiefly  of  social  and  psychological  studies 
of  contemporary  life  in  Ireland  outside  the  peasantry.  And  it  was 
on  the  assumption  that  a  more  truly  national  drama  could  be 
evolved  by  placing  the  emphasis  on  legendary,  folk,  and  peasant 
themes  that  Yeats  and  Lady  Gregory  withdrew  to  devote  their 
energies  to  establishing  the  Irish  National  Theater,  In  1902  the 
first  performances  of  the  new  organization  were  given,  and  since 
1904  its  playhouse,  the  Abbey  Theater,  has  stood  for  what  mu6t  be 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  hopeful  dramatic  de- 
velopments of  recent  years. 

In  some  respects  more  important  than  the  work  of  Yeats  himself, 
especially  in  its  bearing  on  the  development  of  a  people's  drama,  is 
that  of  John  MillingtonSynge'  (1871-1909).  During  the  six  years 
between  1903  and  his  death  he  produced  a  series  of  plays  which  are 
unique  in  dramatic  history.  Of  these  the  most  important  are  "In 
the  Shadow  of  the  Glen,"  "Riders  to  the  Sea,"  "The  Playboy  of  the 
Western  World,"  and  "The  Well  of  the  Saints."  Synge  has  em- 
ployed a  style  based  upon  the  actual  speech  of  the  peasantry  of 
Wicklow  and  of  the  Aran  Islands,  but  has  transformed  it  into  a 
medium  of  rare  poetic  quality,  though  all  his  plays  are,  technically 
speaking,  in  prose.  Synge  has  sometimes  been  called  a  realist  in  his 
treatment  of  Irish  peasant  life,  but  he  is  rather  one  of  those  rare 
writers  who  are  interested  in  reality  rather  than  realism.  He  has  no 

^Sing. 


IRISH  LITERATURE  467 

message  in  the  ordinary  didactic  sense  of  the  term.  He  presents 
universally  human  reactions  to  the  typical  experiences  of  life — 
futile  protest  at  the  coming  of  death,  as  in  "  Riders  to  the  Sea"  ;  in- 
veterate clinging  to  romance,  as  in  "  The  Playboy  "  ;  insistence  upon 
dream  and  illusion  as  being  more  beautiful  than  reality,  as  in  "The 
Well  of  the  Saints." 

So  far  as  actual  realism  in  the  treatment  of  peasant  life  in  Ire- 
land is  concerned,  we  find  it  rather  in  the  plays  of  Padraic  Colum 
than  in  those  of  Synge.  With  a  keen  eye,  a  sure  touch,  a  careful 
balance  of  structure,  and  a  very  deep  sympathy  with  his  subject, 
Colum  has  given  us  in  "The  Land,"  "The  Fiddler's  House,"  and 
"Thomas  Muskerry"  striking  pictures  of  peasant  Ireland  and  the 
forces  that  are  at  work  in  it.  Colum  is  no  more  desirous  than 
Synge  of  producing  problem  plays :  certainly  there  are  problems  at 
the  root  of  his  plays,  but  he  seeks  primarily  to  bring  out  the  drama 
of  country  life  in  Ireland  as  a  revelation  of  human  experience. 
Colum's  poems,  especially  the  volume  entitled  "Wild  Earth"  (1909), 
are  strong  with  the  strength  of  the  soil — intense,  intimate,  vivid, 
expressing  the  struggle  of  man  with  the  deep  and  vital  forces  of 
nature  and  the  joy  and  pain  of  his  round  of  common  experience. 
We  quote  "A  Cradle  Song,"  one  of  the  most  appealing  of  his  peas- 
ant poems : 

"O  men  from  the  fields  ! 

Come  softly  within, 
Tread  softly,  softly, 
O  men  coming  in  ! 

"Mavourneen  is  going 

From  me  and  from  you ; 
Where  Mary  will  fold  him 
With  mantle  of  blue. 

"From  reek  of  the  smoke 
And  cold  of  the  floor. 
And  the  peering  of  things 
Across  the  half-door. 


468  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"0  men  from  the  fields! 

Soft,  softly  come  through; 
Mary  puts  round  him 
Her  mantle  of  blue.''^ 

With  the  names  mentioned— Yeats,  Synge,  Colum— we  have 
covered  the  really  notable  figures  in  the  Irish  theater  movement. 
Lady  Gregory  has  done  some  excellent  work  in  the  field  of  drama, 
especially  comedy.  She  is  at  her  best  in  one-act  plays  designed 
to  bring  out  some  peculiarly  Irish  trait  of  character;  such,  for 
example,  as  "Spreading  the  News,"  "The  Jackdaw,"  and  "The 
Workhouse  Ward."  The  plays  of  William  Boyle,  especially  "The 
Building  Fund,"  deserve  to  be  mentioned.  St.  John  Ervine,  in  his 
several  plays  and  novels,  has  done  much  to  reveal  the  essential 
tragedy  underlying  the  common  turns  of  circumstance  in  everyday 
Irish  life.  Creditable  work  in  the  drama  has  been  done  also  by 
Seumas  O'Kelly  and  George  Fitzmaurice.  The  Ulster  Theater  in 
Belfast,  corresponding  in  its  aims  and  methods  to  the  Dublin  en- 
terprise, is  represented  by  at  least  one  figure  of  note,  "Rutherford 
Mayne"  (Samuel  Waddell),  who  has  produced  some  dramatic 
studies  of  Protestant  Ireland  that  deserve  very  high  praise,  for 
example,  "The  Turn  of  the  Road"  and  "The  Drone." 

Fiction  writers.  Fiction  has  been,  relatively  speaking,  a  neg- 
lected form  of  literary  art  in  Ireland.  Among  recent  writers  Emily 
Lawless  and  Jane  Barlow  show  in  their  work  a  somewhat  con- 
descending quality  in  dealing  with  the  humble  side  of  life.  Seumas 
MacManus  and  Shan  Bullock  have  helped  to  bring  Irish  fiction 
somewhat  into  line  with  Irish  poetry  and  drama  in  importance. 
George  Moore,  who  can  be  claimed  only  in  part  by  the  Irish  move- 
ment, has  contributed  to  it  a  very  superior  volume  of  short  stories 
— "The  Untilled  Field" — and  an  analytical  and  dreamlike  novel, 
entitled  "The  Lake."  The  novels  of  Canon  Sheehan,  though  im- 
perfect in  structure  and  somewhat  diffuse  in  style,  show  him  to  be  a 
keen  and  skillful  interpreter  of  various  types  of  Irish  life,  especially 
of  the  Irish  priesthood  at  its  best.    Among  the  best  of  his  novels,  all 

1  This  selection,  from  Colum's  "  Wild  Earth  and  Other  Poems,"  is  used  by 
permission  of  The  Macmillan  Company. 


IRISH  LITERATURE  469 

of  which  have  a  strongly  Catholic  coloring,  are  ''My  New  Curate" 
and  "Luke  Delmege."  Lord  Dunsany  has  produced  a  series  of  won- 
der tales,  including  "The  Gods  of  Pegana,"  "Time  and  the  Gods," 
and  "A  Dreamer's  Tales,"  inventing  his  own  strange  mythology  for 
the  purpose — weird,  vast,  impressive.  Some  of  his  work  is  cast  in 
dramatic  form ;  such,  for  example,  as  "The  Gods  of  the  Mountain" 
and  "The  Laughter  of  the  Gods."  The  delightful  fantasies  of  James 
Stephens— for  instance,  "The  Crock  of  Gold"  and  "The  Demi- 
Gods" — play  with  characteristic  Celtic  nimbleness  on  the  border 
line  between  heaven  and  earth.  His  whimsical  little  poems,  some- 
times only  half  a  dozen  lines  in  length,  are  a  charming  revelation 
of  the  buoyancy,  the  light-heartedness,  the  assertive  and  unabashed 
good  fellowship,  of  a  fundamentally  Irish  nature. 

Within  the  past  few  years  there  has  been  in  Ireland  a  rather 
significant  return  from  romance  to  realism,  especially  in  fiction. 
The  common  round  of  life,  unrelieved  by  poetic  glamor  or  the  ex- 
citement of  rare  adventure,  the  harsh  and  often  unlovely  environ- 
ment of  the  poor  in  village  and  city,  the  pathos  of  hope  deferred 
and  effort  without  avail,  are  attracting  a  number  of  capable  writ- 
ers. Conspicuous  among  the  recent  writers  of  fiction  who  have 
entered  this  field  are  James  Joyce,  Daniel  Corkery,  Darrell  Figgis, 
and  Forrest  Reid,  much  of  whose  work  is  of  real  value  and  dis- 
tinction. 

Reference  List 

Joyce.   A  Social  History  of  Ireland  (2  vols.).   Lonpmans,  Green  &  Co. 

Green.   The  Old  Irish  World.    The  Macmillan  Company. 

Barker.   Ireland  in  the  Last  Fifty  Years,  1866-1918.   Oxford  University 

Press. 
Hyde.   A  Literary  History  of  Ireland.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Hyde.    The  Story  of  Early  Gaelic  Literature.    P.  J.  Kenedy,  New  York. 
Hull.   A  Textbook  of  Irish  Literature.    Bcnziger  Bros. 
Machan.    The  Literature  of  the  Celts  (2  vols).    Blackie  and  Son,  London. 
BovD.    Ireland's  Literary  Renaissance.    Maunscl  &  Co.,  London. 
Boyd.    The  Contemporary  Drama  of  Ireland.    Little,  Brown  and  Company. 
Bourgeois.    J.  M.  Syn^e  and  the  Irish  Theater.    The  Macmillan  Company. 
Yeats.    Irish  Fairy  and  Folk  Talcs  (Modern  Library).    Boni  &  Liveriuht. 
Ferguson.    Lays  of  the  Western  Gael.    Sealy,  Bryers,  &  Walker,  Dublin. 
SiGERSOX.    Bards  of  the  Gael  and  Gall.    T.  Fisher  Unwin,  London. 


470  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

KuNO  Meyer.  Selections  from  Ancient  Irish  Poetry.  Constable  &  Com- 
pany, London. 

Hull.    Poem  Booii  of  the  Gael.    Chatto  and  Windus,  London. 

Hull.   The  Cuchulain  Saga  in  Irish  Literature.    David  Nutt,  London. 

RoLLESTON.  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Celtic  Race.  Thomas  Y.  Crowell 
Company. 

RoLLESTON.  The  High  Deeds  of  Finn.  George  C.  Harrap  &  Company, 
London. 

Leahy.  Ancient  Heroic  Romances  of  Ireland  (2  vols.).  David  Nutt, 
London. 

Lady  Gregory.    Gods  and  Fighting  Men.     John  Murray,  London. 

Lady  Gregory.    Poets  and  Dreamers.    John  Murray,  London. 

Irish  Texts  Society  (22  vols.)  conLiins  Irish  texts  and  translations.  David 
Nutt,  London. 

Irish  Literature  (10  vols.).    John  D.  Morris  and  Company,  Philadelphia. 

Read.  Cabinet  of  Irish  Literature  (4  vols.).  Gresham  Publishing  Com- 
pany, London.    • 

Lyra  Celtica :  An  Anthology  of  Representative  Celtic  Poetry.  Geddes, 
Edinburgh. 

Brooke  and  Rollestox.  A  Treasury  of  Irish  Poetry.  The  Macmillan 
Company. 

Yeats.   A  Treasury  of  Irish  Poetry.   Methuen  and  Company,  London. 

PADR.MC  Gregory.    Modern  Anglo-Irish  Verse.    David  Nutt,  London. 

Cooke.    Dublin  Book  of  Irish  Verse.    Oxford  University  Press. 

CoLVM.    Modern  Book  of  Irish  Verse.    Boni  &  Liveright. 

Suggested  Topics 

Legendary  Ireland. 

The  Irish  missionaries  to  England  and  the  Continent. 

The  Irish  language. 

Irish  fairy  lore. 

Cuchulain  and  Odysseus  as  epic  heroes. 

English  rule  in  Ireland. 

Early  nineteenth-century  fiction  in  Ireland. 

Impulse  and  motive  of  the  Celtic  revival. 

William  B.  Yeats  —  his  life  and  works. 

The  Irish  theater. 

The  plays  of  John  M.  Synge. 

Lady  Gregory  and  her  work. 

Recent  Irish  fiction. 

Lord  Dunsany. 

Contemporary  Irish  poetry. 


CHAPTER  XV 

AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

The  American  Spirit 

The  United  States  is  a  very  young  nation.  The  brief  period  of 
its  independent  existence — less  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  years — 
makes  it  a  mere  infant  as  compared  with  ahnost  all  the  other 
nations  whose  literature  has  been  reviewed  in  this  book.  Those 
nations  have  certain  more  or  less  clearly  defined  national  traits, 
which  color  their  literature  and  give  it  something  of  an  individual 
tone.  Perhaps  it  is  too  much  to  expect  any  such  thing  as  a  dis- 
tinctive national  quality  to  be  developed  in  so  short  a  period  of 
national  existence.  A  national  spirit  is  the  gradual  result  of  ages 
upon  ages  of  history  and  settled  habitation.  In  the  first  place,  we 
were  a  transplanted  people ;  in  the  second  place,  we  have  become 
an  amazingly  composite  people  as  viewed  from  the  standpoints  of 
nationality  and  race;  and  in  the  third  place,  we  have  undergone 
rapid  and  profound  changes,  geographically,  industrially,  and  so- 
cially. All  these  things  naturally  interfere  with  the  formation  of  a 
national  spirit.  Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  define  the 
American  spirit,  or  idea.  It  has  been  declared  to  reside  in  our 
political  principles,  in  our  buoyant  hopefulness,  in  our  devotion  to 
liberty,  in  our  rough-and-ready  coping  with  frontier  conditions,  in 
our  restless  energy  and  enterprise.  But  these  qualities  are  not 
peculiar  to  the  American  people,  though  some  of  them  may  be  pres- 
ent in  us  in  a  more  intense  degree  than  in  other  peoples.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  is  extremely  difficult,  in  spite  of  our  boasted  inde- 
pendence, for  the  most  careful  student  to  find  in  our  literature  any 
really  distinctive  quality  that  sets  it  off,  let  us  say,  from  English 
literature,  as  in  the  case  of  the  best  writings  of  Ireland.  Of  course, 
with  respect  to  subject  matter  our  literature  is  American  in  a  very 

471 


472  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

definite  sense.  But  can  we  say  that  we  have  yet  achieved  a  dis- 
tinguishing form  or  spirit?  Has  the  great  American  play  or  novel 
yet  been  written?  We  must  be  content  in  this  chapter  merely  to 
record  the  most  striking  manifestations  of  our  literature  as  it  stands. 
A  few  more  generations  may  perhaps  see  evolved  in  the  United 
States  a  typically  American  literature. 


The  Beginnings 

The  Colonial  period.  The  earliest  settlers  in  this  country  had 
little  time  to  devote  to  letters,  and  no  idea  of  themselves  as  other 
than  loyal  Englishmen  devoted  to  their  king  and  to  the  land  from 
which  they  had  come.  They  followed  the  literary  fashions  prevail- 
ing in  England.  Down  to  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
there  is  little  to  record.  In  the  South  virtually  the  only  piece  of 
writing  worthy  of  mention  is  Colonel  William  Byrd's  "History  of 
the  Dividing  Line"  (between  Virginia  and  North  Carolina).  It  is 
an  interesting  and  well-written  account  of  the  wilderness  and  of  the 
social  life  of  his  times  among  all  classes.  In  the  Middle  States  the 
name  of  Thomas  Godfrey  stands  out  as  a  versifier  of  some  note.  His 
"Prince  of  Parthia''  is  a  creditable  poetic  tragedy  modeled  closely 
on  the  Elizabethan  and  Restoration  plays  of  England. 

The  New  England  writers  were  more  prolific.  Their  work  was 
very  largely  religious  and  controversial  in  tone,  even  when  not  so 
in  subject  matter.  The  journal  of  Bradford  and  Winslow  and  the 
later  "History-  of  Plymouth  Plantation"  by  Bradford  lay  no  claim 
to  literary  style,  but  present  a  vivid  account  of  the  trials  and  tri- 
umphs of  the  early  days  of  Plymouth  Colony,  colored  throughout 
by  a  profound  conviction  of  God's  guiding  providence.  The  godly 
Roger  Williams  preached  absolute  religious  tolerance,  in  tracts 
which  make  very  dreary  reading,  but  which  show  a  spirit  much 
in  advance  of  his  times.  And  the  ungodly  Thomas  IMorton,  by 
his  hilarious  colony  of  revelers  at  Merrymount,  scandalized  the 
Puritans  of  Boston.  He  satirized  them  also  in  his  "New  English 
Canaan,"  a  volume  of  mingled  fair  and  unfair  criticism,  which 
exerted  a  corrective  influence. 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE  473 

The  most  popular  piece  of  verse-writing  of  these  early  days  was 
Wigglesworth's  "Day  of  Doom."  It  presented  in  jingling  rime  a 
vivid  account  of  the  judgment  of  God  upon  all  lost  souls,  includ- 
ing unregenerate  infants,  who,  however,  are  allotted  the  "easiest 
room  in  hell."  The  verse  of  Anne  Bradstreet  is  of  a  distinctly 
higher  order.  Among  her  "Contemplations"  are  certain  short 
pieces  which  show  a  sincere  feeling  for  nature  and  some  real  poetic 
power  in  expressing  it. 

Among  the  many  notable  preachers  whose  sermons  and  related 
writings  constituted  the  bulk  of  the  literary  product  of  the  times, 
we  may  single  out  the  two  greatest,  Cotton  Mather  and  Jonathan 
Edwards.  Mather's  most  important  work  was  his  "Magnalia 
Christi,"  a  Church  history  of  New  England.  In  a  learned  and 
laborious  style  he  recounts  a  great  mass  of  events,  many  of  them 
based  on  evident  hearsay  or  mere  superstition,  and  traces  in  them 
all  the  marvelous  providence  of  God.  Edwards  was  a  preacher  of 
singular  purity  and  sweetness  of  nature  combined  with  the  most 
unyielding  religious  dogma.  We  must  not  forget  that  his  sermon 
on  "Sinners  in  the  Hands  of  an  Angry  God"  is  to  be  set  over 
against  many  another  on  the  love  and  grace  of  God,  presented  in 
most  appealing  language. 

The  diary  of  Samuel  Sewall,  covering  the  period  from  1674  to 
1729,  is  a  refreshing  account  of  the  daily  comings  and  goings  of  a 
person  of  importance,  a  fine  piece  of  frank  self-revelation  and  of 
comment  on  the  times.  Madame  Knight's  account  of  her  journey 
from  Boston  to  New  York  in  1704  is  a  delightful  narrative  of 
thoroughly  human,  good-humored  reaction  to  the  varied  experi- 
ences she  encountered. 

The  Revolutionary  period.  From  1750  on,  colonial  history  is 
filled  with  the  stirrings  of  a  discontent  against  the  rule  of  the 
mother  country,  a  discontent  which  gradually  increased  in  bitter- 
ness and  culminated  in  the  separation  of  the  colonies  from  Eng- 
land. Religious  and  didactic  works  continued  to  be  written,  but 
the  outstanding  form  taken  by  the  literature  of  the  period  was 
that  of  the  political  pamphlet,  state  paper,  and  oration.  We  are 
all  familiar  with  the  fact  of  Jefferson's  authorship  of  the  Declara- 


474  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

tion  of  Independence ;  but  we  are  not  so  fully  aware  that  in  his 
numerous  other  writings  he  revealed  a  similar  largeness  of  political 
wisdom  which  is  only  at  this  late  day  beginning  to  be  fully  ap- 
preciated. The  writings  of  Washington,  including  his  famous 
Farewell  Address,  are  couched  in  a  stately  and  dignified  style.  The 
great  orators  of  the  Revolution  were  Patrick  Henry  and  James  Otis. 
The  untiring  Samuel  Adams,  in  his  innumerable  addresses  and 
pamphlets,  performed  a  work  quite  as  important  as  that  of  the 
orators.  Another  writer  of  invaluable  service,  especially  during 
the  war,  was  Thomas  Paine.  The  ill-judged  attacks  upon  his  "in- 
fidelity" have  become  a  mere  echo  of  long  ago.  His  two  pamphlets 
entitled  ''Common  Sense"  and  "The  Crisis"  won  to  the  American 
cause  thousands  of  adherents  in  a  peculiarly  discouraging  period  of 
the  war.  One  of  the  most  enduring  products  of  the  times  is  the 
series  of  political  essays  known  as  "The  Federalist,"  the  joint  work 
of  Hamilton,  Madison,  and  John  Jay.  It  is  a  very  penetrating 
analysis  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  government,  written  in  a 
clear  and  logical  style,  and  it  had  much  to  do  with  securing  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution.  The  writings  of  the  Loyalists,  a 
group  sincerely  opposed  to  separation  from  England  and  subjected 
to  much  persecution  for  their  views,  must  not  be  overlooked. 

Most  of  the  poetr>'  of  the  period,  with  the  single  exception  of 
that  of  Philip  Freneau,  has  long  since  been  deservedly  forgotten. 
The  best  of  Freneau's  poetry,  however,  notably  such  fine  lyrics 
as  "The  Indian  Burying  Ground,"  "The  Wild  Honeysuckle,"  and 
"The  Catydid,"  has  a  permanent  poetic  value.  The  poetry  in- 
spired by  the  war  was  vast  in  amount,  but  Trumbull's  "IM'Fingal," 
a  spirited  satire  on  the  Tories,  is  almost  the  only  noteworthy 
production. 

Deserving  of  special  mention  is  the  journal  of  John  Woolman, 
bookkeeper,  tailor,  and  itinerant  Quaker  preacher.  The  journal 
was  edited  many  years  later  by  Whittier,  who  calls  it  "a  classic 
of  the  inner  life."  It  is  a  quiet,  modest,  self-effacing  narrative — 
"the  sweetest  and  purest  autobiography  in  the  English  language," 
says  Channing.  Woolman  emphasizes  the  inherent  goodness  of 
the  human  heart.    His  ministry  was  one  of  kindly  but  fearless 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE 


475 


utterance  of  the  truth.  He  was  uncompromising,  though  not  bit- 
ter or  rancorous,  in  his  opposition  to  slavery. 

The  notable  series  of  ''Letters  from  an  American  Farmer"  by 
St.  John  Crevecceur,  a  Frenchman  who  had  settled  in  New  Jer- 
sey, is  full  of  Thoreau's  enthusiasm  for  contact  with  the  soil  and, 
indeed,  often  reminds  one  of  Thoreau  in  language  and  sentiment. 

Standing     head     and 


shoulders  above  all  the 
other  writers  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary period, however, 
is  Benjamin  Franklin 
( 1 706-1 790).  We  can 
mention  only  in  brief  re- 
view some  of  the  varied 
activities  of  his  long  and 
eminently  useful  life.  He 
was  printer,  writer,  scien- 
tific investigator,  founder 
of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, colonial  agent 
for  Pennsylvania  and 
several  of  the  other 
colonies,  member  of  the 
Continental  Congress, 
minister  to  France  dur- 
ing the  war,  and  member 
of  the  Constitutional 
Convention.    He  was  a 

deist  in  religion,  and  what  in  our  day  might  well  be  called  a  prag- 
matist  in  philosophy,  centering  his  attention  on  the  socially  useful 
aspects  of  life  rather  than  on  the  speculations  of  theology  and  meta- 
physics. He  was  always  the  counselor  of  prudence.  There  is  little 
idealism  in  Franklin,  there  is  no  poetry,  and  there  are  no  lofty 
flights  of  imagination.  He  is  the  practical  man  of  affairs,  with  a  due 
reverence  for  God  but  with  a  constant  insistence  upon  the  thought 
that  God  will  help  only  those  who  help  themselves. 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN 


476 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


Poor  RiclMird,  1733. 


A  N 


Almanack 


Foi  the  Year  of"  Chrift 


7  33 


Aside  from  his  political  pamphlets,  Franklin's  important  writ- 
ings may  be  reduced  to  two— "Poor  Richard's  Almanac"  and  the 
"Autobiography."  The  first  was  an  annual  publication  covering 
the  twenty-five  years  from  1733  to  1758  and  containing,  besides 

the  usual  calendar,  many  short 
paragraphs  and  maxims  upon 
business,  moral  conduct,  thrift, 
and  the  thousand  and  one  as- 
pects  of  the   common  man's 
experience.  Together  with  the 
Bible  it  constituted  almost  the 
only  reading  matter  of  the  vast 
majority  of  American  farmers 
in  those  years.    The  "Autobi- 
ography," written  in  Franklin's 
old  age,  is  an  absorbingly  inter- 
esting narrative  of  his  boyhood 
and  youth,  of  his  experience  as 
a  printer,  and  of  the  varied 
activities  of  his  early  years  in 
Philadelphia.    It  is  thoroughly 
frank    throughout,    recording 
his  occasional  lapses  from  mor- 
ality  as   well   as   his   worth- 
while achievements,  the  latter 
always  referred  to  in  an  unas- 
suming way.  Franklin  was  an 
avowed  disciple  of  Addison  in 
his  style.  While  the'' Autobiog- 
raphy" lacks  the  polished  ele- 
gance of  Addison,  it  has  all  of  his  simplicity,  directness,  clearness, 
and  quiet  strength.    It  has  held  a  high  place  as  an  American  classic 
ever  since  its  publication.    Franklin  may  be  said,  more  fully  than 
any  other  American  writer,  to  reflect  the  typical  mood  of  the  eight- 
eenth century  as  revealed  in  English  literature — plainness,  com- 
mon sense,  tolerance,  and  the  practical  virtue  of  honesty. 


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TITLE-PAGE  FROM      POOR  RICHARD  S 
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AMERICAN  LITEIL\TURE 


477 


The  Nineteenth  Century  (1800-183  5) 

The  first  generation  after  the  establishment  of  the  national 
government  was  marked  by  a  general  sentiment  of  enthusiasm  for 
the  destiny  of  the  new  state.  By  far  the  greater  part  of  the  litera- 
ture of  the  times  reveals  the 


rather  shallow,  exaggerated 
aspect  of  the  new  national 
pride  and  is  of  little  per- 
manent value. 

Our  first  professional  man 
of  letters  was  Charles  Brock- 
den  Brown  of  Philadelphia 
(1771-1810).  His  six  novels 
were  all  written  in  the  last 
twelve  years  of  his  short 
life.  Of  these  "Wieland," 
''Arthur  Mervyn,"  and 
"Edgar  Huntley"  are  the 
most  important.  Brown's 
novels  are  romantic  in 
quality,  with  much  excite- 
ment and  strange  adventure. 
They  are  somber  and  al- 
most morbid  in  tone,  and 
crude  and   ill-regulated   in 

style.  Brown  was  definitely  under  the  influence  of  William  Godwin, 
and  also  of  the  "Gothic  romance"  writers  of  English  literature,  of 
whom  Mrs.  Radcliffe  was  the  conspicuous  example. 

Irving.  The  two  really  great  names  of  this  period  are  those  of 
Irving  and  Cooper.  Washington  Irving  (1783-1S59)  was  born 
in  New  York  City.  One  of  his  earliest  works,  his  "Knickerbocker 
History  of  New  York,"  is  a  humorous  treatment  of  the  Dutch 
settlement  and  regime,  with  a  considerable  basis  of  fact — more 
than  was  relished  by  the  aristocratic  Dutch  families  of  his  time. 
From  181 5  to  1832  Irving  lived  abroad,  most  of  the  time  in  Eng- 


WASHINGTON  IRVING 


478  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

land  but  for  three  years  in  Spain.  His  long  contact  with  English 
life,  his  eminent  fairness,  and  his  genial  temperament  made  him 
an  ideal  interpreter  of  American  life  to  Englishmen,  and  vice  versa. 
Many  of  the  essays  in  "The  Sketch  Book,"  on  the  whole  his  most 
important  work,  are  directed  to  this  end  and  had  no  small  effect 
in  promoting  a  more  friendly  relation  between  the  two  countries. 
The  two  most  popular  sketches  in  the  volume  are  "  Rip  Van  Winkle  " 
and  "The  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow."  They  are  charmingly  written 
and  reveal  the  kindly  humor  of  the  author,  his  shrewd  insight  into 
character,  and  his  mastery  of  the  literary  form  employed.  "Brace- 
bridge  Hall"  is  a  further  treatment  of  English  aristocratic  country 
life,  the  germ  of  which  appears  in  the  Christmas  essays  in  "The 
Sketch  Book."  Irving's  stay  in  Spain,  supplemented  by  a  later 
residence  there  as  United  States  minister,  resulted  in  the  delightful 
volume  of  tales  entitled  "The  Alhambra"  and  in  his  historical 
works  "The  Life  and  Voyages  of  Columbus,"  "The  Conquest  of 
Granada,"  and  "Mahomet  and  his  Successors."  Irving's  historical 
writings, including  his  later  "Life  of  Washington "  and  his  "Astoria," 
are  the  result  of  conscientious  research,  but  have  been  largely 
superseded  by  the  discovery  of  new  material  and  by  a  more  scientific 
and  scholarly  method.  In  Irving's  best  manner,  however,  is  his 
affectionate  biography  of  Oliver  Goldsmith,  to  whom  he  was  drawn 
by  a  very  considerable  affinity  of  temperament. 

Irving  is  at  his  best  in  the  short  sketch  or  tale.  He  had  many 
interests  and  was  sympathetic,  tolerant,  benevolent,  and  gently 
critical.  His  humor  is  rich  and  mellow  and  never  unkindly.  There 
is  no  great  intensity  or  depth  in  his  writings.  He  does  not  explore 
the  profound  issues  of  life,  but  plays  upon  its  surface,  content  to 
afford  his  reader  some  little  pleasure  in  this  humdrum  world  or  to 
interest  him  in  some  mild  reform  of  conduct  or  social  intercourse. 
His  style  is  happy  and  leisurely  and  is  inclined  somewhat  to  the 
elegance  of  what  we  now  call  the  "old  school."  He  was  wholly 
an  influence  for  good— if  not  in  a  great  way,  at  least  in  a  very 
wholesome  and  useful  way. 

James  Fenimore  Cooper  (i 789-1851),  the  greatest  of  early 
American  novelists,  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  spent  his  boyhood  on 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE  479 

his  father's  estate  at  Cooperstown,  in  western  New  York, — the 
frontier  of  those  days, — was  dismissed  from  Yale  in  his  third 
year  for  taking  part  in  a  student  escapade,  served  as  a  seaman, 
married  the  daughter  of  a  wealthy  New  York  Tory,  spent  seven 
years  abroad  (three  of  them  as  United  States  consul  at  Lyons), 
and  passed  his  declining  years  at  Cooperstown. 

Cooper's  familiarity  with  the  frontier  and  with  the  ocean  put 
him  into  possession  of  excellent  narrative  material,  which  he 
handled  with  dramatic  effect.  He  wrote  thirty-two  novels,  seven 
or  eight  of  which  take  their  place  with  the  best  Romantic  fiction  yet 
produced  in  America.  His  first  great  success,  "The  Spy,"  is  a 
story  of  Revolutionary  times.  The  best  of  his  several  sea  stories 
are  ''The  Pilot"  and  "The  Red  Rover."  These  show  an  enthusi- 
asm for  the  sea,  a  fine  descriptive  power,  well-wrought  character- 
ization, and  a  superb  handling  of  exciting  incident.  It  is,  however, 
upon  the  so-called  Leatherstocking  series  of  scout  and  Indian 
stories  that  Cooper's  reputation  most  firmly  rests.  The  titles  are 
"The  Deerslayer,"  "The  Last  of  the  IMohicans"  (perhaps  his  best 
and  certainly  his  most  popular  novel),  "The  Pathfinder,"  "The 
Pioneers,"  and  "The  Prairie."  These  novels  are  rich  in  thrilling 
adventure,  and  the  leading  characters — especially  Leatherstocking 
himself,  Chingachgook,  and  Uncas — are  finely  conceived.  Cooper 
has  no  rival  in  the  field  of  the  Indian  story.  He  presents  the  fine 
and  noble  as  well  as  the  baser  qualities  of  the  Indian  character, 
though  his  Indians  are  sometimes  too  melodramatic.  His  stories 
are  still  popular,  and  are  more  widely  read  in  Europe  than  those  of 
any  other  American  novelist.  Cooper  was,  moreover,  a  relentless 
critic  of  the  crudeness  and  shallowness  of  civilized  American  life. 

Cooper's  faults  are  no  less  conspicuous  than  his  virtues.  His 
style,  though  animated,  is  often  careless  and  diffuse.  He  is  given 
to  tedious  moralizing.  His  women  and  many  of  his  minor  char- 
acters are  almost  wholly  mechanical.  He  could  not  write  an  effec- 
tive love  scene  ;  he  has  practically  no  sense  of  humor  ;  he  is 
decidedly  inferior  to  Scott,  to  whom  he  is  often  compared  ;  but 
with  all  his  shortcomings,  Cooper  has  and  will  probably  retain  a 
secure  place  in  the  hearts  of  all  lovers  of  romance. 


48o  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  Nineteenth  Century  (1835-1870) 

The  second  generation  of  our  national  life  has  sometimes  been 
called  the  great  creative  period  in  our  literature.  "Creative"  is  a 
strong  word — too  strong,  probably,  to  apply  to  any  but  a  small 
fraction  of  the  writing  produced.  It  is  true,  however,  that  the 
period  includes  more  authors  of  superior  excellence  than  any  other 
in  our  history.  This  fact  is  due  largely  to  a  generally  high  level 
of  prosperity,  together  with  the  cultural  advantages  attendant 
upon  it.  Especially  in  New  England  there  arose  an  intellectual 
aristocracy  in  which  the  severity  of  the  old  theology  had  been 
mellowed  by  time.  The  influence  of  the  universities,  particularly 
Harvard,  and  the  broader  view  of  life  consequent  upon  foreign 
travel  and  familiarity  with  foreign  culture,  continental  as  well  as 
English,  were  also  factors  of  importance.  The  chief  issue  was,  of 
course,  the  contest  over  slavery.  Virtually  all  the  Northern  writ- 
ers were  committed  to  the  antislavery  cause.  It  was  the  period 
also  of  the  development  of  the  West,  of  the  beginning  of  the  great 
flood  of  immigration,  and  of  the  early  stages  of  that  industrialism 
which  was  soon  to  achieve  so  gigantic  and  commanding  an  impor- 
tance in  our  national  life. 

Bryant.  The  first  great  name  in  the  field  of  literature  in  this 
period  is  that  of  William  Cullen  Bryant  (1794-1878).  He  was  a 
native  of  Cummington,  Massachusetts,  but  passed  the  greater  part 
of  his  long  life  in  New  York  City,  as  journalist,  author,  and  influ- 
ential citizen.  Bryant's  poetry  is  marked  first  of  all  by  an  intense 
love  of  nature,  which  in  its  serener  aspects  forms  almost  the  con- 
stant theme  of  his  work.  Of  nearly  equal  importance  is  the 
strongly  religious  and  often  didactic  quality,  at  first  somewhat 
severe,  but  softened  with  his  advancing  years.  Bryant  is  almost 
always  serious  in  his  thought.  The  shortness  of  life  and  the  mor- 
tality of  all  things  are  favorite  themes  with  him,  as  in  his 
earliest  noteworthy  poem,  "Thanatopsis."  Only  rarely,  as  in 
"  Robert  of  Lincoln,"  does  he  yield  to  a  lighter  and  more  play- 
ful mood.  Of  his  long  series  of  nature  poems,  '']\Ionument  Moun- 
tain," "The  Death  of  the  Flowers,"  "A  Forest  Hymn,"  "To  a 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE 


481 


Waterfowl,"  "To  a  Fringed  Gentian,"  and  "The  Yellow  Violet" 
are  typical.  In  his  nature  poetry  he  reflects  the  intimate  and 
reverent  spirit  of  Wordsworth.  His  translation  of  Homer,  in  blank 
verse,  is  one  of  the  best  in  English.  Bryant's  style  in  general  is 
grave  and  dignified,  carefully  wrought,  and  well  adapted  to  his 
subject  matter.  He  was 
the  first  American  poet 
to  employ  blank  verse  in 
an  abundant  and  mas- 
terly way,  and  in  this 
fact  too  we  realize  the  in- 
fluence of  Wordsworth's 
longer  poems. 

Edgar  Allan  Foe 
( I 809-1 849)  was  born 
in  Boston,  of  parents  who 
were  traveling  actors.  He 
became  an  orphan  in  his 
infancy  and  was  adopted 
by  Mr.  John  Allan  of 
Richmond,  Virginia.  He 
attended  school  in  Eng- 
land and  at  Richmond. 
Mr,  Allan's  refusal  to  pay 
Poe's  gambling  debts  re- 
sulted in  his  leaving  the 

University  of  Virginia  in  less  than  a  year.  He  served  two  years  in 
the  army  and  about  a  year  at  West  Point.  The  rest  of  his  life 
was  a  series  of  brief  journalistic  ventures  in  Baltimore,  Richmond, 
New  York,  and  Philadelphia.  His  poverty  and  the  death  of  his 
young  wife,  to  whom  he  was  tenderly  devoted,  told  heavily  upon 
him,  and  his  last  years  were  darkened  by  bitterness,  intemperance, 
and  neglect.  He  is  a  unique  figure  in  American  literature,  and 
a  sad  one.  His  troubled  career  was  due  largely  to  his  own  fail- 
ings, but  it  has  been  the  occasion  of  much  one-sided  and  unfair 
comment. 


EDGAR  ALLAN   POE 


482  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

I'oe  is  the  one  American  author  whose  imaginative  work  is 
wholly  fletachcd  from  the  current  of  his  times  and  wholly  set  in 
the  realm  of  simple  beauty.  He  is  remarkable  also  for  a  total  absence 
of  the  religious  and  moralizing  element.  He  never  tries  to  teach  a 
lesson.  His  work  is  entirely  a  matter  of  artistic  sufficiency.  All 
his  poems  are  lyrical,  and  hence  short.  To  mention  only  a  few 
of  the  best— "The  Raven,"  "The  Bells,"  "Ulalume," "To Helen," 
"Israfel,"  "Annabel  Lee,"  "The  Haunted  Palace,"  "The  City  in 
the  Sea,"  are  full  of  the  haunting  sadness  and  strangeness  of  a 
mind  that  dwells  in  a  world  beyond  space  and  time.  He  is 
supreme  among  our  poets  in  melody  and  harmony  and  in  sensuous 
beauty  of  detail.  The  following  lines  from  "The  City  in  the 
Sea"  are  illustrative  of  Poe's  quality: 

"Resignedly  beneath  the  sky 
The  melancholy  waters  lie. 
So  blend  the  turrets  and  shadows  there 
That  all  seem  pendulous  in  air, 
While  from  a  proud  tower  in  the  town 
Death  looks  gigantically  down." 

Poe  was  a  master  also  in  the  field  of  the  short  story,  greater  in 
his  way  than  Irving  or  Hawthorne.  His  short  stories  fall  into  two 
groups:  imaginative  and  intellectual.  The  first  group  is  charac- 
terized by  much  the  same  qualities  as  his  poems.  He  preferred 
themes  that  could  be  worked  up  to  a  climax  of  horror  or  fear. 
Such  tales  as  "The  Cask  of  Amontillado,"  "The  Masque  of  the 
Red  Death,"  "The  Black  Cat,"  and  "The  Fall  of  the  House  of 
Usher"  are  examples  of  Poe's  best  work  in  the  short  story.  In  the 
group  of  intellectual  tales  we  may  mention  "The  Gold  Bug,"  one 
of  the  best  mystery  stories  in  our  literature,  skillfully  combining 
the  narrative  suspense  of  the  discovery  of  a  hidden  treasure  with 
the  ingenious  interpretation  of  a  cryptogram  revealing  its  location. 
Another  of  these  tales,  "The  Purloined  Letter,"  is  the  forerunner 
and  model  of  a  vast  flood  of  detective  stories  by  other  authors. 
"The  Adventures  of  Hans  Pfaal"  and  "A  Descent  into  the  Mael- 
strom" are  typical  of  Poe's  pseudo-scientific  tales — involving  a 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE  483 

clever  use  of  scientific  principles  in  the  working-out  of  strange 
adventures  that  capture  the  imagination  of  the  reader. 

Poe  was  also  a  literary  critic,  of  very  searching  and  usually 
(though  not  always)  just  temper.  Poetry  he  defined  as  "the  crea- 
tion of  rhythmic  beauty."  The  writer,  whether  in  verse  or  imag- 
inative prose,  says  Poe,  must  first  conceive  the  effect  he  desires  to 
produce — wonder,  terror,  resignation,  illusion,  or  what  not — and 
then  select  his  characters,  events,  settings,  and  other  factors  with  a 
view  to  their  suitability  in  attaining  this  effect.  This  method  Poe 
employed  in  the  best  of  his  own  work,  and  employed  it  supremely 
well. 

The  South.  Together  with  Poe  we  may  group  certain  other 
writers  of  the  South.  Among  these  are  the  two  friends  Henry  Tim- 
rod  and  Paul  Hamilton  Hayne,  the  most  important  members  of  the 
rather  notable  Charleston  group.  Both  were  loyally  devoted  to  the 
Confederate  cause  and  were  impoverished  and  broken  physically 
by  the  war  and  its  after  effects.  Many  of  Timrod's  lyrics,  espe- 
cially his  sonnets,  show  a  fine  response  to  the  beautiful  and  a  gently 
melancholy  tone.  His  best-known  poem,  "The  Cotton  Boll,"  is  an 
enthusiastic  eulogy  of  the  new  Confederacy.  Hayne  in  his  best 
moments  produced  lyrics  revealing  grace  and  tender  emotion  and 
a  fine  responsiveness  to  natural  beauty,  especially  that  of  the 
Southern  pine.  The  novels  of  William  Gilmore  Simms  show  the  in- 
fluence of  Scott  and  Cooper.  Though  inferior  to  the  latter  as  a 
writer  of  Indian  stories,  Simms  has  produced  some  creditable  work 
in  this  field.  His  best  novels,  however, —  for  example,  "The  Kins- 
men," "Katharine  Walton,"  and  "The  Partisan,"— deal  with  the 
South  in  Revolutionary  times. 

The  Middle  States.  An  outstanding  iigure  in  the  literature  of 
the  Middle  States  is  Bayard  Taylor  of  Pennsylvania  (182 5-1 878). 
He  was  a  wide  traveler,  and  his  various  books  of  travel  are  interest- 
ing if  not  highly  important.  The  same  may  be  said  of  his  poetic 
plays.  On  the  other  hand,  many  of  his  short  poems  on  local  themes 
and  characters — such,  for  example,  as  those  found  in  "California 
Ballads,"  "Pennsylvania  Idyls,"  and  "Poems  of  the  Orient"  — 
show  a  considerable  poetic  power.    Included  in  the  last-named 


484  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

volume  is  his  best-known  lyric,  the  "Bedouin  Song"— swift,  pas- 
sionate, intense: 

"From  the  desert  I  come  to  thee, 
On  a  stallion  shod  with  fire  ; 
And  the  winds  are  left  behind 
In  the  speed  of  my  desire." 

Taylor's  translation  of  Goethe's  "Faust"  is  faithful  and  at  the 
same  time  of  high  poetic  value— the  best  that  we  have  in  English. 

Herman  Melville  (1819-1891),  in  his  novels  of  adventure, 
"Typee"  and  "Omoo,"  and  more  especially  in  "Moby  Dick,"  has 
captured  and  given  expression  to  the  spirit  of  the  sea  with  a  masterly 
effectiveness.  His  real  excellence  has  only  recently  begun  to  re- 
ceive the  attention  and  appreciation  which  it  merits. 

Orators.  Of  the  famous  preachers  of  the  time,  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  of  Brooklyn  was  the  most  distinguished.  He  was  a  strong 
antislavery  man,  and  his  numerous  addresses  on  the  slavery  ques- 
tion were  of  definite  value  to  the  Northern  cause.  In  the  field  of 
political  oratory  the  so-called  "three  giants" — Calhoun,  Clay, 
and  Webster — wrestled  with  the  problems  of  the  nature  of  the 
Constitution  and  the  right  of  secession.  John  C.  Calhoun  (1782- 
1850)  was  the  great  champion  of  the  Southern  cause,  and  his 
speeches  are  keenly  analytical,  forceful,  and  logically  organized. 
Daniel  Webster  (i  782-1852),  one  of  the  greatest  orators  of  modern 
times,  stood  for  the  principle  of  national  unity  and  defended  it  with 
an  unparalleled  strength  of  legal  and  historical  mastery.  His  speech 
in  reply  to  Hayne  is  probably  the  greatest  address  ever  delivered 
in  the  United  States  Senate.  Henry  Clay  (i 777-1852),  called  by 
his  admirers  "the  silver-tongued  Kentuckian,"  was  less  lofty  in  his 
utterance  than  Calhoun  or  Webster,  but  had  a  genius  for  compromise 
that  proved  of  great  service  in  more  than  one  national  crisis.  Two 
of  the  most  formidable  opponents  of  slavery  in  Congress  were  Wen- 
dell Phillips  and  Charles  Sumner. 

Almost  all  the  orators  we  have  just  mentioned  belong  to  what 
we  may  call  the  "old  school" — lofty,  dignified,  giving  utterance 
to  sonorous,  rolling  periods  ;  in  short,  oratorical  in  the  most  em- 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE  485 

phatic  sense  of  the  word.  Abraham  Lincoln  (1809-1865),  how- 
ever, may  well  be  regarded  as  the  founder  of  a  new  school  of  oratory. 
His  first  important  utterance — the  famous  "house  divided  against 
itself"  speech  at  Springfield — is  typical.  Lincoln's  characteristic 
quality  runs  through  his  portions  of  the  Douglas  debates,  making 
these  portions  excellent  models  for  the  student  of  debating.  His 
other  notable  speeches  and  his  letters  and  State  papers,  such  as  the 
famous  Cooper  Union  address,  the  letter  to  Greeley,  and  other  writ- 
ings, reveal  the  same  quality.  His  style  is  plain,  simple,  direct, 
unadorned,  almost  conversational  in  tone,  and  above  all  absolutely 
clear  and  logical.  He  was  a  past  master  in  the  handling  of  balance, 
antithesis,  and  anecdote.  In  his  greater  moments,  represented  by 
the  Gettysburg  speech  and  the  two  inaugural  addresses,  he  rises  to 
a  poetic  and  prophetic  height  of  simple  power  that  leaves  the  sensa- 
tional rhetoric  of  Douglas  and  even  the  mighty  periods  of  Webster 
far  behind.  The  letter  to  INIrs.  Bixby  is  characteristic  of  the  man 
and  his  style : 

"Executive  Mansion,  Washington, 

November  21,  1864 
Mrs.  Bixby,  Boston,  Massachusetts. 

Dear  Madam  :  I  have  been  shown  in  the  files  of  the  War  Department 
a  statement  of  the  Adjutant-General  of  Massachusetts  that  you  are  the 
mother  of  five  sons  who  have  died  gloriously  on  the  field  of  battle.  I  feel 
how  weak  and  fruitless  must  be  any  words  of  mine  which  should  attempt 
to  beguile  you  from  the  grief  of  a  loss  so  overwhelming.  But  I  cannot 
refrain  from  tendering  to  you  the  consolation  that  may  be  found  in  the 
thanks  of  the  Republic  they  died  to  save.  I  pray  that  our  heavenly  Father 
may  assuage  the  anguish  of  your  bereavement,  and  leave  you  only  the 
cherished  memory  of  the  loved  and  lost,  and  the  solemn  pride  that  must 
be  yours  to  have  laid  so  costly  a  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of  freedom. 
Yours  very  sincerely  and  respectfully, 

Abraham  Lincoln." 

Historians.  Among  the  historians  of  the  period  are  at  least  four 
who  deserve  mention.  George  Bancroft's  "History  of  the  United 
States"  is  a  conscientious  piece  of  work,  but  is  colored  by  a  too 
constant  glorification  of  all  things  American.    The  special  field  of 


486 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


William  H.  Prescott  was  Spain,  and  his  volumes  on  ''Ferdinand 
and  Isabella,"  "The  Conquest  of  Mexico,"  and  "The  Conquest  of 
Peru"  are  marked  by  sound  scholarship  and  fine  narrative  style. 
John  Lothrop  Motley's  "Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic"  and  "His- 
tory of  the  United  Netherlands"  are  a  thoroughly  reliable  treat- 
ment of  the  subject,  and  present  in  a  vivid  fashion  the  great 

personalities  involved  in  it. 
Francis  Parkman,  laboring 
(as  did  also  Prescott)  under 
serious  disadvantages  of  im- 
paired sight  and  health,  pro- 
duced a  fascinating  series 
of  volumes  chiefly  on  the 
contest  between  France  and 
England  for  supremacy  in 
America.  He  is  by  far  our 
best  interpreter  of  the  In- 
dian nature.  His  "Conspir- 
acy of  Pontiac"  has  the  ring 
of  soundness  and  reality 
which  one  finds  but  rarely 
in  Cooper.  His  sympathetic 
and  scholarly  treatment  of 
the  French  missionaries,  ex- 
plorers, and  statesmen,  in 
"The  Jesuits  in  North  Amer- 
ica," "La  Salle  and  the  Dis- 
covery of  the  New  West,"  and  "Count  Frontenac  and  New  France," 
have  made  for  him  a  well-merited  reputation  as  a  sound  historian. 
Emerson.  We  come  now  to  the  great  New  England  writers, 
humorously  referred  to  by  Holmes  as  the  Brahmins  of  our  litera- 
ture. Almost  all  of  them  lived  in  Boston  or  its  near  vicinity. 
The  Concord  group  included  Emerson,  Thoreau,  and  for  a  few 
years  Hawthorne.  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  (1803-1882)  was  born 
in  Boston  and  made  his  home  there  during  the  first  thirty  years 
of  his  life.    He  was  a  Harvard  man  and  after  graduation  entered 


RALPH  WALDO  EMERSON 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE  487 

the  ministry,  serving  four  years  as  pastor  of  the  Old  North  Church 
in  Boston.  But  even  the  Hberal  Unitarian  faith  proved  too  nar- 
row for  his  spirit,  and  he  resigned  in  1832.  The  rest  of  his  Hfe 
was  spent  quietly  in  Concord,  as  a  writer  and  honored  citizen,  and 
was  varied  only  by  lecture  trips  and  by  three  voyages  to  Europe, 
the  most  important  fruit  of  which  was  his  lifelong  friendship 
with  Carlyle. 

Matthew  Arnold  has  very  happily  characterized  Emerson  as 
"the  friend  and  aider  of  those  who  would  live  in  the  spirit." 
Emerson  was  the  center  of  the  Transcendentalist  fellowship,  a 
group  of  intellectuals  who  emphasized  an  idealistic  view  of  life, 
a  faith  in  the  higher  intuitions,  and  a  devotion  to  the  things  which 
are  not  seen  but  are  eternal.  Emerson's  poetry  is  almost  all  in 
the  form  of  short  lyrics  which  concern  themselves  with  something 
higher  and  deeper  than  mere  sensuous  beauty  or  the  emotions  of 
impassioned  youth.  His  poems  are  thoughtful  in  substance  and 
somewhat  rarefied,  even  austere,  in  expression.  They  have  a 
crispness  and  decision  of  phrase  and  a  compactness  of  statement 
that  make  them  sometimes  difficult  reading,  but  they  afford  an 
excellent  medium  for  his  thought.  A  specimen  taken  almost  at 
random  will  fairly  illustrate  his  poetic  style.  Here  is  his  lyric 
entitled  "Experience": 

"The  lords  of  life,  the  lords  of  life, — 
I  saw  them  pass, 
In  their  own  guise, 
Like  and  unlike. 
Portly  and-  grim, — 
Use  and  Surprise, 
Surface  and  Dream, 
Succession  swift,  and  spectral  Wrong, 
Temperament  without  a  tongue. 
And  the  inventor  of  the  game 
Omnipresent  without  name;  — 
Some  to  see,  some  to  be  guessed, 
They  march  from  east  to  west : 
Little  man,  least  of  all, 
Among  the  legs  of  his  guardians  tall, 


488  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Walks  about  with  puzzled  look. 
Him  by  the  hand  dear  Nature  took, 
Dearest  Nature,  strong  and  kind, 
Whispered,  "Darling,  never  mind! 
Tomorrow  they  will  wear  another  face, 
The  founder  thou  ;  these  are  thy  race  !  " 

The  reader  should  familiarize  himself  with  such  representative 
poems  of  Emerson  as  "Each  and  All,"  "The  Rhodora,"  "Days," 
"The  Troblem,"  "Mithridates,"  "Merlin,"  and  the  poignant 
"Threnody"  on  the  death  of  his  little  boy. 

Emerson's  essays  voice  in  general  the  same  ideas  as  his  poems. 
So  far  as  form  is  concerned,  they  are  somewhat  loosely  con- 
structed, with  too  little  regard  for  coherence  and  logical  arrange- 
ment. Emerson  is  oracular.  He  does  not  argue.  He  is  not 
troubled  about  minor  inconsistencies.  He  speaks  as  the  inspired 
prophet  and  not  as  the  pleader  of  any  special  cause.  The  two 
ideas  which  stand  out  most  conspicuously  in  his  writings  are  his 
opposition  to  a  materialistic  view  of  life  and  his  insistence  upon 
the  supreme  worth  of  the  individual  personality.  He  urges  us  to 
beware  of  the  deadening  influence  of  convention  and  custom. 
"Trust  thyself — every  heart  vibrates  to  that  iron  string,"  says 
he  in  his  inspiring  essay  on  "Self  Reliance."  And  in  "The  Ameri- 
can Scholar"  we  find  such  stirring  and  heartening  sentences  as 
the  following : 

"Every  day,  the  sun ;  and  after  sunset,  Night  and  her  stars.  Ever  the 
winds  blow  ;  ever  the  grass  grows.  Every  day,  men  and  women,  convers- 
ing, beholding  and  beholden.  The  scholar  is  he  of  all  men  whom  this 
spectacle  most  engages.  .  .  .  Our  day  of  dependence,  our  long  appren- 
ticeship to  the  learning  of  other  lands,  draws  to  a  close.  The  millions 
that  around  us  are  rushing  into  life  cannot  always  be  fed  on  the  sere 
remains  of  foreign  harvests.  Events,  actions  arise,  that  must  be  sung, 
that  will  sing  themselves." 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  overrate  the  importance  and  the  extent 
of  Emerson's  thoroughly  wholesome  influence  upon  American 
thought  and,  in  the  long  run,  upon  American  conduct  as  well.  He 
was  particularly  happy  in  knowing  that  earnest  young  people 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE  489 

everywhere  were  responding  to  his  appeal,  although  among  per- 
sons of  maturer  years  also  he  numbered  thousands  of  sincere 
admirers.  Every  American  should  be  familiar  with  the  essays 
mentioned,  and  also  with  at  least  those  on  ''Nature,"  "Compensa- 
tion," ''The  Poet,"  "History,"  "The  Oversoul,"  "Friendship," 
and  "The  Emancipation  Address." 

Henry  David  Thoreau  (181 7-1862)  was  an  intimate  friend  of 
Emerson,  and  his  writings  closely  resemble  those  of  his  great  con- 
temporary in  both  content  and  style,  although  in  the  case  of 
Thoreau  nature  occupies  a  leading  place.  He  was  born  in  Concord 
and  spent  virtually  the  whole  of  his  life  there,  with  the  exception  of 
short  trips  up  the  Merrimack  River,  to  Cape  Cod,  and  to  the  Maine 
woods  and  the  St.  Lawrence.  "I  love  a  wide  margin  to  my  life," 
he  said ;  and  he  lived  accordingly.  He  worked  at  the  making  of 
lead  pencils  and  at  surveying,  in  which  he  was  an  expert — earning 
enough  in  about  six  weeks  to  meet  his  modest  expenses  for  an  entire 
year.  The  real  business  of  life  he  conceived  to  be  an  exploration  of 
the  world  of  thought  and  the  higher  realities.  He  was  an  exponent 
of  the  simple  life  and  embodied  his  theory  in  a  two  years'  residence 
on  the  shore  of  Walden  Pond,  near  Concord,  in  a  one-room  cabin 
which  he  had  built  himself.  Thoreau  stands  for  three  great  ideas: 
the  high  value  of  a  loving  contact  with  nature ;  the  necessity  of 
getting  away  from  the  blighting  influence  of  property  and  from  the 
materialistic  idea  of  life  in  general ;  and  the  development  of  one's 
individual  personality.  "A  man  is  rich  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  things  which  he  can  afford  to  let  alone,"  he  says.  "Live  free  and 
uncommitted  ;  it  makes  little  difference  whether  you  are  committed 
to  a  farm  or  to  the  county  jail."  Face  the  essentials  of  life  and  do 
not  worry  about  its  accidents.  "If  my  jacket  and  trousers,  my  hat 
and  shoes,  are  fit  to  worship  God  in,  they  will  do,  will  they  not  ?  " 
Thoreau,  like  Emerson,  is  full  of  pregnant  sentences  like  these.  They 
constitute  one  of  the  delightful  elements  in  his  writings.  Thoreau's 
poems  are  few  in  number,  consisting  mainly  of  reflective  and  de- 
scriptive lyrics  in  much  the  same  form  as  those  of  Emerson,  the  one 
entitled  "Smoke"  being  the  most  distinctive.  The  bulk  of  his  work 
is  in  the  form  of  essays  and  is  embodied  chiefly  in  four  volumes: 


490  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"A  Week  on  the  Concord  and  Merrimac  Rivers,"  "Walden,"  "Cape 
Cod,"  and  "In  the  Maine  Woods."  In  all  of  these  are  revealed 
Thoreau's  marvelously  intimate  knowledge  of  nature  and  his  reflec- 
tions on  life  and  conduct.  He  was  not  an  unsocial  being,  as  many 
have  supposed.  He  emphasized  only  the  need  of  getting  away  from 
society  for  at  least  part  of  one's  time  and  into  the  fellowship  of 
trees,  birds,  snow,  and  stars.  His  writings  are  the  voice  of  one  cry- 
ing in  the  wilderness  of  our  materialistic  and  artificial  life. 

Hawthorne.  Our  greatest  novelist  was,  on  the  whole,  Nathaniel 
Hawthorne  ( 1804- 1864).  He  was  born  in  the  historic  old  town  of 
Salem,  Massachusetts,  and  like  Longfellow  was  educated  at  Bow- 
doin  College.  Except  for  two  periods  of  service  as  customs  officer, 
and  two  as  United  States  consul  at  Liverpool  and  at  Rome,  his 
whole  life  was  given  to  literature.  He  lived  for  a  year  at  Brook 
Farm,  near  Boston,  a  cooperative  experiment  of  the  Transcenden- 
talist  reformers,  who  attempted  to  combine  culture  with  labor.  He 
lived  in  Concord  from  1842  to  1846,  in  the  Old  Manse,  and  again 
in  1852  and  1853.  His  friendship  with  Emerson  and  Thoreau  was 
cordial  but  not  intimate. 

Hawthorne  wrote  several  volumes  of  short  stories,  the  most  im- 
portant being  "Mosses  from  an  Old  Manse,"  "Twice-Told  Tales," 
"The  Snow  Image,"  and  "A  Wonder-Book  for  Boys  and  Girls."  In 
the  short  story  Hawthorne  leans  to  legend  and  tradition,  more 
especially  the  darker  side,  and  to  fanciful  and  often  sinister  com- 
plications of  personality.  Typical  tales  are  "The  Birthmark," 
"  Feathertop,"  "  Young  Goodman  Brown,"  "The  Maypole  of  Merry- 
mount,"  "Rappaccini's  Daughter,"  and  "Dr.  Heidegger's  Experi- 
ment." Occasionally  he  yields  to  a  brighter  and  more  serene  mood, 
as  in  "The  Great  Stone  Face,"  and  even  to  the  playful,  as  in  "A 
Rill  from  the  Town  Pump."  His  short  stories  are  finely  conceived 
and  very  carefully  finished. 

His  novels  reveal  much  the  same  tendency  as  his  short  stories. 
Hawthorne  seemed  fascinated  by  the  strange  and  baffling  problem 
of  evil.  His  romances  have  at  their  heart  some  great  sin  or  crime, 
in  the  consequences  or  relations  of  which  his  characters  are  in- 
volved. 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE  491 

A  terrible  sin  concealed  is  the  motive  of  "The  Scarlet  Letter."  It  is 
the  story  of  the  betrayal  of  Hester  Prynne  by  the  young  minister  Arthur 
Dimmesdale ;  of  the  punishment  meted  out  to  her  by  the  severity  of  the 
Puritan  code — to  wear  the  scarlet  letter  A  as  a  symbol  of  her  sin  ;  of  her 
emergence,  with  her  little  daughter  Pearl,  through  seven  years  of  kindly 
and  helpful  m.inistration  to  the  unfortunate,  into  a  strength  and  beauty  of 
character  that  touches  the  hearts  of  even  her  stern  Puritan  neighbors  ;  of 
the  gradual  intensifying  of  remorse  and  of  the  burden  of  guilt  concealed 
in  the  heart  of  the  minister,  who  has  all  these  years  been  achieving  a 
constantly  growing  reputation  for  godliness  among  his  congregation;  and 
of  his  final  collapse  and  death  under  the  weight  of  his  burden,  but  not 
before  a  full  confession  in  the  presence  of  all  the  people — a  confession 
made  tragically  impressive  by  the  fearful  revelation  of  the  scarlet  letter 
upon  his  breast  beneath  his  garments. 

In  Hawthorne's  other  novels  we  find  the  same  insistence  upon  the 
problem  of  evil  in  the  human  heart.  An  ancient  wrong  casts  its 
spell  upon  the  characters  in  ''The  House  of  the  Seven  Gables";  a 
crime  forces  Donatello  into  manhood  in  ''The  Marble  Faun";  and 
the  tragic  conflict  between  selfish  passion  and  devotion  to  social 
reform  brings  about  the  wreck  of  a  man's  soul  in  "The  Blithedale 
Romance."  Hawthorne  was  a  Unitarian,  but  he  never  disburdened 
himself  of  the  Puritan  shadow  of  sin  and  its  awful  hold  upon  the 
human  race. 

Hawthorne  wrote  with  extreme  and  scrupulous  care.  Like  Irving 
he  is  of  the  "old  school," — almost  the  last  of  note  in  our  literature, 
— and  his  sentences  have  the  ease,  grace,  and  elevated  diction  of 
the  best  prose  of  an  earlier  day. 

Whittier.  The  so-called  Cambridge  group  of  authors  includes 
Longfellow,  Lowell,  and  Holmes.  John  Greenleaf  Whittier,  though 
not  immediately  connected  with  Boston  and  Cambridge,  lived  with- 
in forty  miles  of  these  places  and  was  sufficiently  intimate  with  the 
writers  just  mentioned  to  warrant  our  speaking  of  him  in  the  same 
connection.  Unlike  them,  however,  he  had  none  of  the  advantages 
of  college  training,  foreign  travel,  or  cultured  environment.  He 
was  born  in  1807  on  a  farm  in  Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  and  was 
a  genuine  product  of  the  soil.  In  spite  of  his  severely  limited  school- 
ing he  entered  the  field  of  journalism  and  made  his  way  little  by 


492  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

lit  til'  in  the  newspaper  world.  Becoming  early  identified  with  the 
antislavery  movement,  he  devoted  himself  to  it  with  a  greater  in- 
tensity of  enthusiasm  than  any  other  of  our  notable  writers.  He 
was  actively  interested  in  local  politics,  especially  upon  the  anti- 
slavery  issue,  and  served  a  term  as  member  of  the  Massachusetts 
legislature.  From  1840  to  the  end  of  his  life  in  1892  he  lived  in 
Amesbury,  not  far  from  the  old  home  at  Haverhill. 

Whittier's  poems  on  slavery  include  his  early  volume  "Voices  of 
Freedom,"  the  famous  but  rather  inferior  "Barbara  Frietchie," 
"Ichabod  "  (on Webster's  supposed  surrender  tothe  Southern  cause), 
"The  Lost  Occasion"  (a  somewhat  milder  judgment  on  the  same 
theme),  and  the  finely  poetic  "Laus  Deo,"  written  at  the  close  of 
the  war.  Whittier  also  treated  New  England  legends  and  traditions 
with  an  effective  hand,  his  best  attempt  in  this  field  being  "Skip- 
per Ireson's  Ride."  But  his  great  contribution  to  our  literature 
lies  in  his  vivid  and  deeply  truthful  portrayals  of  rural  New  Eng- 
land life.  "Snowbound"  is  unsurpassed  as  a  picture  of  humble  farm 
life  and  character,  done  with  a  loving  hand  and  a  kindly  heart.  The 
more  sordid  and  barren  aspects  of  that  life  appear  in  the  prologue 
to  "Among  the  Hills."  Other  notable  poems  in  the  same  field  are 
"Maud  Muller,"  "In  School  Days,"  "The  Barefoot  Boy,"  and  the 
e.xquisite — indeed  almost  perfect — lyric  "Telling  the  Bees."  The 
profoundly  religious  Quaker  faith  of  Whittier,  a  faith  in  which 
the  quarrels  of  the  "jarring  sects"  find  no  place  and  in  which  love 
is  deep  and  strong,  finds  a  beautiful  expression  in  "The  Eternal 
Goodness"  and  in  some  of  Whittier's  hymns,  especially  the  one 
containing  the  stanza  beginning  : 

"We  may  not  climb  the  heavenly  steeps 
To  bring  the  Lord  Christ  down." 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow,  the  best  beloved  of  American 
poets,  was  born  at  Portland,  Maine,  in  1807.  Except  for  the  tragic 
loss  of  his  wife,  who  was  burned  to  death  in  his  presence,  his  life 
was  an  uneventful  one.  He  made  several  voyages  to  Europe,  partly 
to  qualify  himself  for  the  professorship  of  modern  languages  at 
Bowdoin  and  later  at  Harvard,  where  he  served  for  eighteen  years. 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE"  493 

Most  of  his  life  was  passed  at  Cambridge,  the  last  twenty-five  years 
or  so  in  studious  retirement,  varied  by  one  or  two  trips  abroad.  He 
died  in  1882. 

The  popularity  of  Longfellow  rests  upon  his  extreme  simplicity, 
upon  the  obviousness  of  his  sentiments,  upon  his  choice  of  familiar 
themes,  and  upon  his  tendency  to  moralize.  These  qualities  stand 
out  in  such  well-known  poems  as  "The  Psalm  of  Life,"  "The  Chil- 
dren's Hour,"  "The  Rainy  Day,"  "The  Village  Blacksmith,"  and 
scores  of  others.  Indeed  there  is  hardly  one  of  his  poems  in  which 
the  Puritan  legacy  of  pointing  a  moral  is  not  apparent.  In  spite  of 
this  fault,  or  perhaps  we  might  better  say  because  of  it,  he  succeeded 
admirably  in  putting  into  graceful  poetic  form  the  common  experi- 
ences and  moods  of  life  and  so  rendered  a  very  wide  if  not  deep 
service  to  our  people.  Another  great  service  which  he  performed 
was  that  of  familiarizing  the  American  public  to  some  extent  with 
the  varied  and  abundant  culture  of  the  Old  World.  Many  of  his 
poetic  tales,  ballads,  and  lyrics  were  of  definite  value  in  this  field ; 
for  example,  "The  Belfry  of  Bruges,"  "The  Saga  of  King  Olaf," 
"Giotto's  Tower,"  and  "King  Robert  of  Sicily."  In  the  field  of 
early  American  history  also  he  performed  much  the  same  service 
— in  such  poems  as  ''Evangeline"  and  "The  Courtship  of  Miles 
Standish"  (the  best  examples  of  the  Homeric  hexameter  in  Eng- 
lish), "Lady  Wentworth,"  "Ballad  of  the  French  Fleet,"  and 
other  poems.  The  American  Indian,  too,  Longfellow  popularized  in 
"Hiawatha."  It  has  been  somewhat  the  custom  to  disparage  this 
poem  as  thin  and  immature  and  suited  to  children  only,  but  this  is 
a  mistaken  judgment.  It  is  true  that  Longfellow  drew  his  material 
from  secondary  sources.  It  is  true  also  that  he  idealizes  and  mor- 
alizes with  too  free  a  hand.  But  the  primitive  cadence  of  the  verse 
(based  on  the  Finnish  epic  "Kalevala")  and  the  symbolic  value  of 
many  of  the  nature  stories  justify  us  in  calling  "Hiawatha"  an 
American  epic  of  relatively  high  merit.  Another  real  service  ren- 
dered by  Longfellow  is  found  in  his  excellent  translations  from 
many  of  the  European  languages,  especially  that  of  Dante's 
"Divine  Comedy."  His  more  mature  work,  including  "The  Tales 
of  a  Wayside  Inn,"  "Christus,"  "Ultima  Thule,"  and  "Michael 


494  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Angelo,"  gives  expression  to  a  deeper  and  less  obvious  and  hence 
more  satisfying  view  of  life  than  his  earlier  poems. 

Longfellow's  style  is  easy,  smooth,  not  strong  but  quiet  and 
gently  flowing,  and  shows  a  thorough  command  of  rime  and  the 
conventional  requirements  of  stanza  structure.  He  cannot  be  called 
a  great  poet,  but,  like  Irving,  he  may  be  said  to  have  reached  a  very 
wide  circle  of  responsive  readers  and  to  have  rescued  much  of  our 
common  experience  from  its  triviality  by  giving  it  a  poetic  coloring 
and  form. 

James  Russell  Lowell  was  born  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
in  1 8 19.  He  graduated  from  Harvard,  after  some  difference  of  opin- 
ion between  himself  and  the  faculty  which  resulted  in  his  suspension 
during  part  of  his  senior  year.  During  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
he  lived  in  Cambridge,  and  died  there  in  1891.  Lowell  was  a  man 
of  great  vigor  of  intellect  and  of  widely  varied  activities.  He  was  a 
scholar,  poet,  critic,  editor,  and  diplomat.  His  editorship  included 
that  of  the  Atlantic  Monthly  and  of  the  North  American  Review. 
He  succeeded  Longfellow  as  professor  of  modern  languages  at  Har- 
vard, where  he  served  for  twenty-one  years.  As  minister  to  Spain 
and  to  Great  Britain  he  performed  the  functions  of  the  post,  both 
diplomatic  and  social,  in  a  superlatively  competent  way.  As  a 
literary  critic  he  is  independent  if  not  original,  and  his  critical  work 
is  marked  by  sound  scholarship,  keen  insight,  and  strong  and 
concrete  style.  The  volumes  entitled  "Among  my  Books,"  ''My 
Study  Windows,"  and  "The  Old  English  Dramatists"  contain  some 
of  the  best  literary  criticism  produced  in  the  United  States  up  to 
his  time. 

Lowell's  critical  tendency  overflows  into  his  poetry  to  the  extent 
at  least  of  one  remarkable  poem,  "A  Fable  for  Critics,"  in  which 
in  a  vigorous,  rattling  meter  he  characterizes  nearly  all  his  contem- 
poraries and  himself  as  well.  His  tone  is  humorous  throughout,  but 
his  judgment  is  remarkably  fair  and  accurate.  "The  Vision  of  Sir 
Launfal"  is  his  own  interpretation  of  the  Grail  story  in  modern 
terms : 

"The  holy  supper  is  kept  indeed 
In  whatso  we  share  with  another's  need." 


AMERICAN  LITER.\TURE  495 

The  poem  contains  a  lofty  spiritual  idea  and  also  some  excellent 
nature  descciptions,  including  the  famous  passage  beginning 

"And  what  is  so  rare  as  a  day  in  June  ?  " 

Lowell  was  a  fearless  opponent  of  slavery,  his  best  work  on  this 
subject  being  the  two  series  of  "Biglow  Papers."  They  are  written 
in  Yankee  dialect,  of  which  Lowell  was  a  thorough  master.  They 
are  put  forth  as  the  poetic  efforts  of  a  country  lad,  Hosea  Biglow. 
The  first  series  is  on  the  subject  of  our  war  with  Mexico,  which 
Lowell  violently  opposed  as  an  attempt  at  the  extension  of  the 
slave  power.  'The  second  series  was  called  forth  by  the  Civil  War. 
Beneath  the  humorous  surface  of  these  poems  there  is  an  under- 
current of  very  serious  satire  of  great  energ\-  and  deep  conviction. 
Many  of  Lowell's  intense  utterances  reflect  the  most  enlightened 
sentiments  of  the  present  day.  The  most  appealing  of  all  these 
Yankee  idyls  is  one  that  is  not  political,  but  purely  human  in  its 
motive — ''The  Courtin'."  The  picture  of  the  bashful  Zekle  is 
inimitable : 

"He  stood  a  spell  on  one  foot  fust, 
Then  stood  a  spell  on  t'other ; 
An'  on  which  one  he  felt  the  wust 
He  couldn't  ha'  told  ye  nuther." 

Among  Lowell's  other  war  poems  are  "The  Present  Crisis," — a 
ringing  appeal  to  the  North  to  respond  to  the  great  cause, — and 
the  lofty  ''Commemoration  Ode,"  in  honor  of  the  Harvard  men 
who  had  given  their  lives  in  the  war.  The  latter  contains  the 
famous  tribute  to  Lincoln  which  concludes  with  the  line: 

"New  birth  of  our  new  soil,  the  first  American." 

Lowell's  other  poetry  is  abundant  in  amount  and  of  great  range. 
Typical  poems  are  "The  Shepherd  of  King  Admetus,"  "An  Indian 
Summer  Reverie,"  "Under  the  Willows,"  and  "The  Cathedral." 
They  are  written  with  his  characteristic  vigor  and  fullness  of  utter- 
ance. Indeed  Low^ell's  faults,  such  as  they  are,  may  be  traced  to 
his  resistless  flow  of  thought  and  the  spontaneous  vigor  with  which 


496  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

he  wrote — faults  of  careless  construction,  not  always  appropriate 
diction,  diffuseness,  and  occasional  want  of  logical  structure.  But 
his  verse  is  always  eager  and  fresh  and  generally  on  a  high  level  of 
poetic  excellence. 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  (1809-1894)  was  born  in  Cambridge, 
but  except  for  his  several  European  trips  lived  chiefly  in  Boston. 
Like  Longfellow  and  Lowell  he  was  of  the  old  New  England  aristoc- 
racy. He  graduated  from  Harvard  in  1829,  was  a  practicing  physi- 
cian in  Boston,  and  was  for  nearly  forty  years  professor  of  anatomy 
at  Harvard.  He  was  the  perennial  class  poet  at  the  annual  alumni 
reunions  of  his  college  class.  He  began  his  poem  on  the  thirtieth 
reunion  thus : 

"Has  there  any  old  fellow  got  mixed  with  the  boys  ? 
If  there  has,  take  him  out,  without  making  a  noise." 

This  is  quite  in  keeping  with  Holmes's  customary  mood.  A  very 
large  part  of  his  poetry  is  occasional  in  its  subject  matter — writ- 
ten for  various  gatherings,  celebrations,  commemorations,  etc.,  and 
therefore  not  of  great  permanent  value.  Only  some  half  dozen  of 
his  poems  reveal  the  spirit  that  transcends  the  occasion  and  rises  to 
real  poetic  merit.  The  best  of  these  is  the  tenderly  humorous  and 
deeply  sympathetic  "Last  Leaf" — a  vivid  portrait  of  the  aged  sur- 
vivor of  a  day  long  past : 

"  But  now  he  walks  the  streets, 
And  he  looks  at  all  he  meets, 

Sad  and  wan ; 
And  he  shakes  his  feeble  head. 
That  it  seems  as  if  he  said, 

'They  are  gone.'" 

The  famous  "Chambered  Nautilus"  conveys  in  an  impressive  way 
a  deep  spiritual  lesson.  So  also  do  several  of  Holmes's  hymns. 
A  particular  favorite  is  the  one  beginning : 

"Lord  of  all  being,  throned  afar, 
Thy  glory  flames  from  sun  and  star." 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE  497 

In  his  more  characteristically  humorous  tone  are  ''Dorothy  Q"  and 
*'The  Wonderful  One-Hoss  Shay,"  the  latter  finely  typical  of 
Yankee  shrewdness  and  ''logic." 

Holmes's  remarkable  prose  series  of  "Breakfast  Table"  essays, 
contributed  to  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  are  the  best  revelation  of  his 
genial  humor  and  friendly  seriousness.  The  several  volumes  are 
entitled  "The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table/'  "The  Poet  at  the 
Breakfast  Table,"  "The  Professor  at  the  Breakfast  Table,"  and 
"Over  the  Teacups."  The  author  conceives  himself  as  the  center 
of  a  boarding-house  group,  discoursing  in  a  garrulous  strain  of 
humor,  with  an  undercurrent  of  serious  thought  and  in  a  wholly 
random  fashion,  upon  whatever  happens  to  suggest  itself  to  him. 
His  talk  is  interspersed  with  short  poems  and  with  remarks  by  the 
landlady's  daughter,  the  schoolmistress,  the  divinity  student,  "the 
young  man  named  John,"  and  "the  old  gentleman  who  sits  oppo- 
site." As  a  novelist  Holmes  did  some  creditable  but  not  very  im- 
portant work  in  "Elsie  Venner,"  "A  Mortal  Antipathy,"  and  "The 
Guardian  Angel." 

Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  (1811-1896)  may  well  be  included  in 
the  Boston  group,  as  she  came  of  New  England  stock  and  lived  for 
some  years  at  Andover.  Almost  every  reader  of  English  is  familiar 
with  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin."  It  was  written  as  a  propagandist  novel 
in  the  antislavery  cause  and  has  the  weaknesses  attaching  to  all 
propagandist  literature.  It  is  not  always  true  to  fact  and  not  al- 
ways fair  to  Southern  life,  but  it  is  a  story  of  absorbing  interest, 
and  its  immense  popularity  served  quite  as  effectively  as  the  ad- 
dresses and  sermons  of  her  famous  brother  Henry  Ward  Beecher  in 
securing  adherents  to  the  cause. 

Walt  Whitman.  Leaving  the  New  England  group,  we  come  now 
to  one  of  the  most  significant  figures  in  American  literature — Walt 
Whitman.  He  was  born  in  18 19  on  Long  Island  ;  had  practically 
no  formal  schooling  ;  worked  as  printer,  carpenter,  editor,  army- 
hospital  attendant,  and  government  clerk ;  rambled  over  a  large 
part  of  the  South,  mostly  on  foot ;  and  passed  the  closing  years  of 
his  life  in  the  modest  cottage  in  Camden,  New  Jersey,  where  he 
died  in  1892. 


498  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  great  bulk  of  Whitman's  poetry  is  contained  in  the  various 
successive  editions  of  "Leaves  of  Grass,"  originally  published  in 
1855.  So  far  as  subject  matter  is  concerned,  Whitman's  great  dis- 
tinction lies  in  his  uncompromising  individualism  on  the  one  hand 
and  the  inspiring  sweep  of  his  idea  of  democracy  on  the  other : 

"One's  self  I  sing,  a  simple,  separate  person ; 
Yet  utter  the  word  democratic,  the  word  en  masse." 

The  New  England  poets  believed  in  America  and  in  democracy, 
but  always  with  moments  of  anxious  misgiving  and  always  with  one 
eye  turned  more  or  less  deferentially  to  the  Old  World.  Whitman 
looked  westward,  had  no  misgivings,  and  rejoiced  in  the  great,  un- 
kempt, sweaty,  unwashed  mass  of  humanity  that  was  America  in 
the  making : 

"Beautiful  World  of  new,  superber  Birth,  that  rises  to 
my  eyes, 
Like  a  limitless  golden  cloud,  filling  the  western  sky." 

Some  of  the  best  Civil  War  poems  that  our  literature  boasts  are  in- 
cluded in  "Leaves  of  Grass" — such  intense  and  graphic  and  richly 
poetic  pieces  as  "Eighteen  Sixty-One,"  "Come  Up  from  the  Fields, 
Father,"  "A  March  in  the  Ranks  Hard  Prest,"  "The  Wound- 
Dresser,"  and  the  solemnly  tender  "Reconciliation,"  so  brief  and 
simple,  and  yet  so  deeply  satisfying  : 

"Word  over  all.  beautiful  as  the  sky, 
Beautiful  that  war  and  all  its  deeds  of  carnage  must  in  time  be  utterly 

lost, 
That  the  hands  of  the  sisters  Death  and  Night  incessantly  softly  wash 

again,  and  ever  again,  this  soil'd  world  ; 
For  my  enemy  is  dead,  a  man  divine  as  myself  is  dead ; 
I  look  where  he  lies  white-faced  and  still  in  the  coffin— I  draw  near, 
Bend  down  and  touch  lightly  with  my  lips  the  white  face  in  the  cofl&n." 

"O  Captain,  my  Captain,"  on  the  theme  of  the  death  of  Lincoln,  is 
the  most  popular  of  Whitman's  poems.  As  poetry,  however,  it  is 
inferior  to  "When  Lilacs  Last  in  the  Dooryard  Bloom'd,"  which,  in 


WALT   WHITMAN 


500  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

depth  and  ^rcatness  of  feeling  and  in  simple  poetic  power,  is  the 
finest  tribute  to  Lincoln  in  our  literature.  The  closing  lines  are  as 
follows : 

"Comrades  mine  and  I  in  the  midst,  and  their  memory  ever  to  keep,  for 

the  dead  I  loved  so  well, 
For  the  sweetest,  wisest  soul  of  all  my  days  and  lands — and  this  for  his 

dear  sake, 
Lilac  and  star  and  bird  twined  with  the  chant  of  my  soul. 
There  in  the  fragrant  pines  and  the  cedars  dusk  and  dim." 

The  individual  note  in  Whitman  is  constantly  expressed  in  terms  of 
universal  friendship,  comradeship,  and  good  will.    He  says : 

"I  dream'd  in  a  dream,  I  saw  a  city  invincible  to  the  attacks  of  the  whole 

of  the  rest  of  the  earth  ; 
I  dream'd  that  was  the  City  of  Friends  ; 
Nothing  was  greater  there  than  the  quahty  of  robust  love — it  led 

the  rest ; 
It  was  seen  every  hour  in  the  actions  of  the  men  of  that  city, 
And  in  all  their  looks  and  words." 

Whitman's  splendid  and  unabashed  confidence  in  the  daring  adven- 
ture of  the  individual  soul  into  the  world  of  human  experience  is 
finely  expressed  in  the  following  lines  from  "Passage  to  India" : 

"  Sail  forth  !  Steer  for  the  deep  waters  only  ! 
Reckless,  0  soul,  exploring,  I  with  thee,  and  thou  with  me; 
For  we  are  bound  where  mariner  has  not  yet  dared  to  go, 
And  we  will  risk  the  ship,  ourselves,  and  all." 

As  to  form,  WTiitman  inaugurated  a  new  technique  of  poetry — 
what  is  now  known  as  "free  verse."  The  form  was  not  widely 
adopted,  however,  until  the  rise  of  what  has  been  called  the  "new 
poetry"  movement  in  our  own  times.  Free  verse  means  simply  the 
rejection  of  rime  (except  incidentally)  and  also  of  strict  metrical 
structure,  the  rhythm  of  the  line  being  irregular  and  based  rather 
upon  cadence  than  upon  the  regular  limitation  of  syllables.  The  ex- 
tracts quoted  from  his  poems  will  give  the  reader  a  good  idea  of 
free-verse  form  as  employed  by  Whitman. 


AMERIC\N  LITER.\TURE  501 

It  is  easy  to  criticize  Whitman.  He  who  will  may  speak  with 
some  truth  of  his  crudity,  his  frequent  lack  of  artistic  sense,  the 
peculiarities  of  his  vocabulary,  his  lapses  into  quite  ordinary  prose, 
his  startling  glorification  of  the  animal  appetites.  Yet  how  much 
on  the  positive  side  remains  to  be  said  !  Let  the  reader  take  Whit- 
man's volume  in  hand  and  turn  the  pages  with  sympathy  and  a  de- 
sire to  understand,  as  is  Whitman's  due.  What  does  he  discover? 
A  great,  virile,  large-hearted  man,  with  an  almost  unparalleled  sense 
of  comradeship  and  good  will.  He  makes  no  claim  to  excellence,  as 
he  says,  "in  verbal  melody  and  all  the  conventional  technique  of 
poetry.''  His  plea  is  that  "the  profoundest  service  that  poems  or 
any  other  writings  can  do  for  their  reader  is  to  fill  him  with  vigorous 
and  clean  manliness,  religiousness,  and  give  him  good  heart  as  a 
radical  possession  and  habit."  He  states  it  as  his  conviction  that 
"the  crowning  growth  of  the  United  States  is  to  be  spiritual  and 
heroic.  To  help  start  and  favor  that  growth — or  even  to  call  atten- 
tion to  it,  or  the  need  of  it — is  the  beginning,  middle,  and  final 
purpose  of  the  poems"  (that  is,  of  "Leaves  of  Grass").  Whitman's 
best  work  ranks  with  the  best  that  has  been  done  in  American  litera- 
ture ;  and  he  may  well  be  regarded  as  voicing  the  spirit  of  the 
modem  world,  facing  forward,  rejecting  traditional  forms,  and  ac- 
cepting the  whole  of  life  as  the  domain  of  art. 

The  Nineteenth  Century  (1870-1900) 

The  third  generation  of  our  national  life  saw  a  rapid  recovery 
from  the  effects  of  a  devastating  war,  and  a  revival  of  the  impulse 
to  expansion  that  had  characterized  the  pre-war  period.  Pioneer 
conditions  in  the  West  and  Pacific  Northwest  gave  way  to  settled 
agricultural  and  industrial  life.  Our  acquisition  of  the  Hawaiian 
and  Philippine  Islands  brought  us  into  contact  with  world  problems 
and  policies.  Business  enterprise,  engineering  science,  and  the  de- 
velopment of  our  natural  resources  combined  to  make  us  a  very 
wealthy  and  very  prosperous  people,  as  these  terms  are  commonly 
understood.  Most  significant  of  all  was  the  definite  emergence  of 
the  inherent  conflict  between  capital  and  labor,  revealing  itself  in 


502  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

the  organization  of  vast  business  corporations  on  the  one  hand  and 
widely  federated  labor  unions  on  the  other.  Under  these  conditions 
our  literature  became  broadly  dispersed.  Boston  was  no  longer  thr 
hub  of  the  literary  universe.  The  short  story  was  rapidly  developed 
as  a  literary  diet  for  a  very  much  occupied  people.  The  period  has 
relatively  few  great  names  to  its  credit,  but  a  multitude  of  lesser 
writers  whose  work  is  a  graphic  picture  of  the  hopeful  as  well  as  the 
sinister  aspects  of  the  times. 

The  East  continued  for  some  years  to  hold  its  place  as  the  princi- 
pal field  of  literary  production,  but  its  great  prestige  was  gone. 
Thomas  Bailey  Aldrich  produced  narrative  and  lyric  poetry  in  con- 
siderable quantity  and  often  of  real  poetic  effectiveness.  The  banker- 
poet  Edmund  Clarence  Stedman  wrote  a  number  of  spirited  lyrics, 
among  the  best  being  his  "Pan  in  Wall  Street,"  and  produced  some 
valuable  work  in  literary  criticism,  notably  his  ''Victorian  Poets." 
The  exquisite  little  poetic  fancies  of  Emily  Dickinson — whimsical, 
sensitive,  and  fleeting  in  quality — have  a  distinctive  charm  ;  as,  for 
example,  the  following  delicate  little  poem  entitled  "Autumn": 

"The  morns  are  meeker  than  they  were, 
The  nuts  are  getting  brown  ; 
The  berry's  cheek  is  plumper, 
The  rose  is  out  of  town. 

"The  maple  wears  a  gayer  scarf, 
The  field  a  scarlet  gown. 
Lest  I  should  be  old-fashioned, 
I'll  put  a  trinket  on.''^ 

Somewhat  similar,  but  without  the  elflike  grace  of  Miss  Dickin- 
son's poems,  are  the  brief,  thoughtful,  artistically  finished  lyrics  of 
Richard  Watson  Gilder. 

Among  the  novelists  one  of  the  most  significant  names  is  that 
of  William  Dean  Howells  (183 7-1920).  Though  born  in  Ohio,  he 
passed  most  of  his  life  in  Boston  and  New  York,  where  he  served 
respectively  as  editor  of  the  Atlantic  Monthly  and  associate  editor 
of  Harper's  Magazine.  He  is  remarkable  for  two  things :  he  is  the 
^  Copyright  by  Little,  Brown  and  Company. 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE 


503 


''*, 


h. 


greatest  of  our  later  novelists,  representing  the  emphasis  upon  fic- 
tion, and  more  particularly  Realistic  fiction,  that  characterized  his 
period ;  and  he  is  among  the  first  of  our  notable  writers  to  con- 
centrate his  thought  in  an  unobtrusive  but  insistent  way  upon  the 
theme  of  social  justice.  His  earlier  novels,  for  example  ''The  Rise 
of  Silas  Lapham"  and  "A  Modern  Instance,"  are  remarkable  for 
their  careful  technique  and 
for  their  prevailing  choice 
of  the  ''pale  gray"  types  of 
common,  unromantic  ex- 
perience as  his  favorite  ma- 
terial. His  "conversion,"  or 
awakening,  came  with  the 
profound  influence  exerted 
upon  him  by  the  works  of 
Tolstoy  and  his  consequent 
realization  of  the  essential 
tragedy  inherent  in  our 
social  and  economic  malad- 
justments.^ This  later  ex- 
perience is  presented  with 
a  finely  developed  artistic 
skill  and  with  a  delicate 
undertone  of  irony  in  such 
novels  as  "  A  Hazard  of  New 
Fortunes,"  "The  Quality  of 

Mercy,"  "The  Kentons,"and  "The  Leatherwood  God"  (to  mention 
only  a  few  of  his  more  important  novels),  and  in  the  fictitious  bit  of 
socialist  propaganda  "A  Traveler  from  Altruria."  Howells  was 
never  sensational,  wrote  no  "thrillers"  or  ''best  sellers,"  and  had 
a  quality  of  reserve  and  understatement  which  attracts  the  thought- 
ful reader  rather  than  a  wider  public. 

Henry  James  (1843-1916)  resided  during  the  greater  part  of  his 
life  in  Europe,  chiefly  in  England,  and  in  the  year  before  his  death 
became  a  British  subject.   His  early  environment  was  one  of  cul- 

^See  page  313. 


WILLIAM    DEAN    HOWELLS 


504  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD     - 

ture  and  of  leisure,  and  his  inherent  nature  made  him  a  keen  ob- 
server of  character  with  a  view  to  its  utiHzation  in  fiction.  He  has 
produced  a  remarkable  series  of  so-called  ''international  novels" 
— studies  chiefly  of  the  American  in  a  European  environment.  In 
his  earlier  novels — such,  for  example,  as  "Roderick  Hudson," 
"The  American,"  and  "The  Portrait  of  a  Lady" — he  employs  a 
relatively  large  canvas,  fullness  of  incident,  and  broadness  of  theme. 
In  his  later  work — "The  Ambassadors,"  "The  Awkward  Age," 
"The  Golden  Bowl,"  and  "The  Wings  of  a  Dove"— we  find  a 
much  greater  limitation  of  field,  a  closeness  of  texture,  a  studied 
minuteness  of  detail,  and  an  exactness  of  psychological  observation 
that  place  him  in  the  company  of  George  Eliot,  Flaubert,  and  Tur- 
genev.  James's  method  led  him  to  the  adoption  of  an  extremely 
complex  sentence  form, — overelaborate,  urbane,  fastidious,  and 
scrupulously  unemphatic, — the  exasperation  of  the  uncritical  reader 
and  the  delight  of  an  inner  circle  of  devoted  admirers.  His  short 
stories,  which  have  a  deservedly  high  reputation,  deal  with  much 
the  same  subject  matter  and-motives  as  his  novels,  but  with  some- 
what less  of  psychological  and  stylistic  subtlety.  "Daisy  Miller" 
is  a  good  example  of  the  "long  short-story,"  or  novelette,  in  which 
James  was  particularly  successful. 

Among  the  essayists  and  miscellaneous  prose  writers  of  the  period 
Charles  Dudley  Warner  and  George  William  Curtis  deserve  special 
mention.  Two  notable  writers  on  nature  were  John  Burroughs  and 
John  Muir.  Charles  Eliot  Norton,  in  his  literary  criticism  and  in  his 
admirable  prose  translation  of  Dante,  shows  fine  scholarship  and 
high  literary  ability.  Among  the  exponents  of  the  "new  history" 
movement — a  movement  which  emphasizes  scrupulous  accuracy, 
severe  impartiality,  and  logical  judgment — a  conspicuous  place 
is  occupied  by  John  Fiske  (1842-1901).  His  earlier  work  was 
in  the  field  of  evolutionary  philosophy,  his  most  important  vol- 
umes being  "Outlines  of  Cosmic  Philosophy,"  "The  Idea  of  God," 
and  "The  Origin  of  Evil."  His  volume  on  "American  Politi- 
cal Ideals,"  published  in  1885,  proved  to  be  the  turning-point  from 
which  is  dated  his  later  work  in  American  history.  His  historical 
studies  extend  from  the  discoverers  of  America  to  the  inauguration 


LIBRARY  OF   CONGRESS,  WASHINGTON 


So6 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


of  the  Federal  government,  the  most  important  titles  being  ''Old 
Virginia  and  her  Neighbors,"  "TheAmericanRevolution,"and"The 
Critical  Period  in  American  History,"  Fiske  has  been  praised  as 
a  pioneer  in  the  application  of  the  evolutionary  idea  to  history, 
but  this  aspect  of  his  work  has  been  somewhat  overrated.  He  is, 
however,  perhaps  the  chief  of  American  historians  in  narrative 

and  dramatic  appeal.  Ex- 
cellent work  in  the  field  of 
American  history  has  also 
been  done  in  recent  years 
by  John  Bach  McMaster, 
James  Ford  Rhodes,  and 
Frederick  J.  Turner. 

The  West.  In  the  period 
under  discussion  the  West 
begins  definitely  to  come 
into  its  own.  The  finely 
humorous  and  pathetic 
poems  of  James  Whitcomb 
Riley  are  among  our  best 
interpretations  of  Indiana 
life.  Eugene  Field  has  writ- 
ten some  exquisite  child 
poems,  and  other  poetry 
and  short  stories  of  merit. 
The  Far  West  is  represented 
by  Joaquin  Miller  and  Edgar  Rowland  Sill,  both  of  whom  have 
produced  excellent  lyric  and  narrative  poems. 

Among  the  novelists  of  the  West,  Samuel  L.  Clemens  (1835- 
1910),  writing  under  the  assumed  name  of  "Mark  Twain,"  has  a 
place  peculiarly  his  own.  He  came  into  prominence  through  his 
amusing  little  sketch  "The  Jumping  Frog,"  and  followed  it  up 
with  two  inimitable  stories  of  boyhood  life, — "Tom  Sawyer"  and 
"Huckleberr>'  Finn," — among  the  earliest  and  best  portrayals  of 
the  American  boy  as  he  really  is.  His  travel  books,  especially 
"Innocents  .Abroad,"  are  full  of  ironical  references  to  the  assumed 


SIDNEY  LANIER 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE  507 

superiority  of  European  culture.  In  fact,  Mark  Twain  rose  but 
rarely  to  the  height  of  a  truly  cultured  vision  of  life,  and  his  humor, 
while  rich  and  abundant,  is  often  lacking  in  the  finer  and  more 
delicate  qualities.  Underlying  his  sportive  vein  there  is,  however, 
a  deeply  serious,  even  pessimistic,  tone,  that  represents  him  perhaps 
more  truly  than  does  his  humor.  Among  his  best-kno\\Ti  ^serious 
volumes  is  his  sympathetic  study  "Joan  of  Arc." 

The  South  maintained  in  this  period,  as  it  has  always  done,  a 
high  standard  of  literary  excellence,  though  the  individual  names 
are  relatively  few.  The  greatest  name,  on  the  whole,  is  that  of 
Sidney  Lanier  (i 842-1 881),  poet,  Confederate  soldier,  teacher, 
musician — a  highly  gifted  and  sensitive  personality.  His  poems 
have  a  finished  excellence  of  form  and  a  broad  and  deep  imaginative 
value;  and  their  richly  musical  quality  bears  witness  to  the  in- 
timate relation  which  Lanier  maintained  should  always  exist  be- 
tween music  and  poetry.  His  best-known  poem  is  "The  Marshes  of 
Glynn" — a  fine  combination  of  the  sensuous  beauty  of  nature  on 
the  one  hand  and  depth  of  spiritual  apprehension  on  the  other : 

"Oh,  like  to  the  greatness  of  God  is  the  greatness  within 
The  range  of  the  marshes,  the  liberal  marshes  of  Glynn." 

The  novelists  of  the  South  have  contributed  in  no  small  measure 
to  the  wealth  of  our  literature.  George  W.  Cable,  in  "Bonaven- 
ture,"  "Old  Creole  Days,"  and  other  volumes,  has  given  us  our  best 
interpretation  of  Acadian  and  Creole  life  in  Louisiana.  Thomas 
Nelson  Page  has  done  a  similar  service  for  the  Virginia  negro,  and 
Joel  Chandler  Harris  for  the  Georgia  negro,  especially  in  his  "Uncle 
Remus"  series  of  folk  tales. 

The  Twentieth  Century 

It  is  almost  impossible  for  a  contemporary  to  grasp  the  trend  and 
spirit  of  his  own  times.  We  are  too  much  a  part  of  the  current  to 
realize  its  direction.  One,  at  least,  of  the  significant  aspects  of  the 
life  of  our  day  would  seem  to  be  the  intensifying  of  the  industrial 
struggle  between  masters  and  men,  a  struggle  that  is  apparent  on 


5o8 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


almost  every  hand  and  in  almost  every  manifestation  of  our  life. 
Another  is,  of  course,  the  experience  of  the  World  War  and  the 
troubled  conditions  following  in  its  wake.  The  quantity  of  litera- 
ture inspired  by  these  two  themes  has  been  immense,  especially 
that  inspired  by  the  war.    Undoubtedly  the  bulk  of  it  will  live  only 

for  the  passing  hour.  But 
it  is  not  easy  to  say  who 
among  the  vast  host  of 
present-day  writers  are 
likely  to  prove  immortals. 
Among  the  poets,  we 
may  probably  venture  to 
assign  a  relatively  high 
place  to  William  Vaughn 
Moody  (1869-1910),  a 
poet  and  dramatist  of 
deep  seriousness,  wide  cul- 
ture, and  extraordinary 
lyric  power.  Though  he 
is  hopeful  for  the  future 
of  America,  he  is  far  re- 
moved from  the  shallow 
optimism  of  too  many  of 
our  recent  writers.  The 
work  of  George  Edward 
Woodberry  and  Richard 
Hovey  gives  a  finely  poetic  expression  to  many  of  the  aspects  of 
the  time  and  the  moods  of  the  human  soul. 

In  the  second  decade  of  the  century  the  so-called  "new  poetry" 
movement  has  occupied  a  large  place  in  American  as  well  as  in 
European  literature.  So  far  as  form  is  concerned,  the  new  move- 
ment is  impatient  of  traditional  stanzaic  and  metrical  structure  as 
imposing  an  unnecessary  limitation  on  the  poet's  impulse.  In  this 
respect  it  goes  back  to  Whitman,  choosing  largely  the  medium  of 
free  verse  which  he  employed  in  so  masterly  a  way.  His  earliest 
disciples  and  imitators,  however,  were  among  the  poets  of  France. 


1#.  ^ 

iv 

f 

RICHARD   HOVEY 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE 


S09 


It  must  not  be  assumed  that  the  new  poetry  is  confined  to  free 
verse.  The  traditional  forms,  such  as  the  sonnet,  quatrain,  and 
blank  verse,  are  not  excluded  so  long  as  they  really  provide  a  suit- 
able vehicle  of  expression.  The  movement  has  tried  also  to  rid  itself 
of  formal  ''poetic  diction" — such  terms  as  "thee"  and  "thou," 
"morn,"  "o'er,"  "ne'er,"  "mine  eyes,"  and  the  like — and  to  convey 
its  thought  in  natural, 
plain,  and  unadorned 
language.  With  respect 
to  subject  matter,  the 
new  poets  have  striven 
to  free  themselves  from 
the  didactic  and  obvi- 
ously moral  tone,  al- 
though their  work  often 
conveys  a  deep  and  seri- 
ous meaning.  They  feel 
that  all  the  phenomena 
of  life  are  legitimate 
material  for  poetry — 
blast  furnaces  and  ghetto 
fruit-venders  as  well  as 
mountains,  meadows,  and 
lofty  deeds.  Unfortu- 
nately the  movement  has 
its  camp  following  of  in- 
ferior verse-writers  who  seek  distinction  in  mere  freakishness  and 
eccentricity.  But  these  should  not  mislead  one  into  a  harsh  judgment 
of  the  school  as  a  whole,  which  has  merits  of  a  high  and  real  order. 
Among  its  conspicuous  exponents  are  Edward  Arlington  Robinson, 
Edgar  Lee  Masters,  Robert  Frost,  Carl  Sandburg,  Vachel  Lindsay, 
and  Witter  Bynner.  The  Imagist  group,  whose  ambition  is  to  pre- 
sent clear,  hard,  concentrated,  and  strictly  objective  pictures  of 
nature  and  life,  is  best  represented  by  Amy  Lowell,  John  CJould 
Fletcher,  and  Mrs.  Richard  Aldington,  the  last-named  writing 
under  the  pen  name  of  "H.  D." 


O.   HENRY 


510  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Of  the  host  of  recent  and  contemporary  novelists  we  single  out 
for  mention  Hamlin  Garland,  whose  novels  and  short  stories  of 
farm  life  in  the  Middle  West  are  convincing  and  well  written ; 
William  Sydney  Porter  (writing  under  the  name  of  "O.Henry"), 
who  is,  on  the  whole,  the  best  of  our  recent  short-story  writers  ; 
Winston  Churchill,  who  has  written  worth-while  novels  on  historical 
and  social  themes ;  Edith  Wharton,  who  has  produced  some  excel- 
lent studies,  especially  of  New  York  society  life ;  Jack  London,  who 
concerns  himself  chiefly  with  the  raw  and  primitive  and  elemental 
aspects  of  life ;  Theodore  Dreiser,  probably  the  most  frank  and  un- 
compromising of  our  Realistic  novelists  ;  and  James  Branch  Cabell, 
whose  unique  style  and  original  inventiveness  have  proved  at- 
tractive to  many  readers.  Aspects  of  the  industrial  struggle  are 
presented  by  ISIargaret  Deland,  Frank  Norris,  and  Ernest  Poole. 

American  playwrights  of  the  present  and  the  recent  past  have 
produced  a  notable  quantity  of  work — not  much  of  it  great,  but 
a  good  deal  of  it  of  more  than  average  excellence.  Among  the  con- 
spicuous names  are  those  of  Bronson  Howard,  Clyde  Fitch,  Au- 
gustus Thomas,  Edward  Sheldon,  Percy  Mackaye,  Charles  Rann 
Kennedy,  George  Middleton,  and  Eugene  O'Neill, 

In  the  field  of  prose  other  than  fiction  and  drama  the  product 
has  been  so  abundant  as  to  make  selection  almost  impossible.  Our 
writers  have  produced  distinguished  work  in  history,  essays,  lit- 
erary criticism,  and  political  and  social  exposition.  William  James, 
in  his  remarkably  clear  and  stimulating  studies  in  psychology,  has 
been  of  very  definite  value  to  a  host  of  readers.  In  philosophy 
notable  work  has  been  done  by  Josiah  Royce  and  John  Dewey. 
Henry  Adams,  in  his  thoughtful  autobiographical  volume  entitled 
"The  Education  of  Henry  Adams,"  offers  a  searching  analysis  and 
criticism  of  many  of  the  aspects  of  present-day  American  life. 
Theodore  Roosevelt's  historical  writings  show  an  easy  command  of 
his  material  and  a  vigorous  and  lucid  narrative  style.  Woodrow 
Wilson's  numerous  works  on  history  and  economics  deserve  high 
praise,  and  his  State  papers  and  addresses  during  the  term  of  his 
presidency  constitute  a  clear  statement  in  superior  literary  style  of 
the  high  objects  for  which  we  entered  the  World  War. 


AMERICAN  LITERATURE  511 

Reference  List 

Historical  and  Critical : 

MuzzEY.    American  History.    Ginn  and  Company. 

Hart.  American  History  Told  by  Contemporaries  (4  vols.).  The  Mac- 
millan  Company. 

Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  VH.    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 

Cambridge  History  of  American  Literature  (4  vols.).    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 

Wendell.   A  Literary  History  of  America.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Trent.    American  Literature.    D.  Appleton  and  Company. 

BoYNTON.    American  Literature.    Ginn  and  Company. 

Long.  American  Literature  (Ginn  and  Company).  Other  high-school  texts 
by  Halleck  (American  Book  Company),  Pace  (Allyn  &  Bacon),  New- 
comer (Scott,  Foresman  and  Company),  Pancoast  (Henry  Holt  and 
Company),  etc. 

Mitchell.  American  Lands  and  Letters  (2  vols.).   Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Trent  and  Erskine.  Great  Writers  of  America  (Home  University  Library) . 
Henry  Holt  and  Company. 

Burton.    Literary  Leaders  of  America.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Vincent.    American  Literary  Masters.    Houghton  Mifllin  Company. 

Pattee.   History  of  American  Literature  since  1870.   The  Century  Company. 

Stedman.    Poets  of  America.    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

Brownell.   American  Prose  Masters.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

Dickinson.   The  Case  of  the  American  Drama.   Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

Van  Doren.   The  American  Novel.   The  Macmillan  Company. 

Amy  Lowell.  Tendencies  in  Modern  American  Poetry.  The  Macmillan 
Company. 

Collections : 
Newcomer,  Andrews  and  Hall.   Three  Centuries  of  American  Poetry  and 

Prose.   Scott,  Foresman  and  Company. 
Calhoun  and  MacAl.\rney.    Readings  from  American  Literature.    Ginn 

and  Company. 
Trent.   Southern  Writers.   The  Macmillan  Company. 
Mims.    Southern  Poetry  and  Prose.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Fulton.    Southern  Life  in  Southern  Literature.    Ginn  and  Company. 
Stedman.    An  American  Anthology.    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 
Bronson.    American  Poems.    University  of  Chicago  Press. 
LouNSBURY.    American  Poems.    Yale  University  Press. 
Boynton.    American  Poetry.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Page.    Chief  .American  Poets.    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 
Knowles.    Golden  Treasury  of  American  Songs  and  Lyrics.   The  Page  Co. 
Le  Gallienne.    Book  of  Modern  American  Verse.    Boni  &  Liveright. 
RiTTENHOUSE.    Little   Book   of  Modern   Verse    (first   and  second   scries). 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 
Untermeyer.    Modern  American  Poetry.    Harcourt,  Brace  and  Company. 


512  LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 

Monroe  and  Henderson.   The  New  Poetry,  an  Anthology.   The  Macmillan 

Company. 
Bronson.   American  Prose  to  1866.   University  of  Chicago  Press. 
Rees.   Modern  American  Prose  Selections.    Harcourt,  Brace  and  Company. 
Matthews.    Oxford  Book  of  American  Essays.    Oxford  University  Press. 
HowELLS.    The  Great  Modern  American  Stories.    Boni  &  Liveright. 
QuiNN.   Representative  American  Plays.   The  Century  Company. 
Moses.    Representative  Plays  by  American  Dramatists.    E.  P.  Button  & 

Company. 
Dickinson.   The  Wisconsin  Plays.    B.  W.  Huebsch. 
Baker.    The  Harvard  Plays.    Brentano's. 
Baker.    Modern  American  Plays.   Harcourt,  Brace  and  Company. 

Series,  Libraries,  etc.: 

American  Men  of  Letters.    Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

Everyman's  Library.    E.  P.  Dutton  &  Company. 

School  series:    Riverside  Literature  Series  (Houghton  Mifflin  Company). 

Standard  English  Classics  (Ginn  and  Company).  Similar  series  by  other 

publishers. 
Of  the  American  classics  the  largest  number  is  published  by  the  Houghton 

Mifflin  Company.    Send  for  catalogue. 

Suggested  Topics 

Southern  life  in  colonial  times. 

New  England  life  in  colonial  times. 

Franklin's  philosophy  of  life. 

A  group  of  Irving 's  short  stories. 

Cooper's  Indians. 

The  Lincoln-Douglas  debates. 

A  review  of  Parkman's  "La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great  West." 

Emerson's  "Self-Reliance." 

Thoreau's  philosophy  of  life. 

Hawthorne  and  the  problem  of  evil. 

New  England  farm  life  as  presented  by  Whittier. 

Longfellow  as  a  cultural  influence. 

Whitman's  idea  of  democracy. 

Howells  as  a  Realist. 

A  study  of  Henry  James's  "  Portrait  of  a  Lady." 

An  estimate  of  Mark  Twain. 

The  "new  poetry"  movement. 

The  best  recent  American  plays. 

A  study  of  a  novel  of  the  day. 


A  CLOSING  WORD 

We  have  now  completed  our  journey — from  Egypt  and  Baby- 
lonia, the  oldest  of  nations,  to  America,  almost  the  newest.  The 
reader  will  recall  that  in  the  preface  to  this  volume  the  statement 
was  made  that  the  province  of  our  study  was  to  be  the  literature 
of  the  major  nations.  Much  of  interest  and  significance  in  the 
literature  of  the  world  has  perforce  been  passed  by.  Very  attrac- 
tive material  in  Spanish-American  literature  is  now  rapidly  becom- 
ing known  to  readers  of  English.  A  good  deal  of  excellent  writing 
has  been  done,  and  is  being  done,  in  Canada  and  other  portions  of 
the  British  Empire  not  covered  in  our  sketch.  The  Magyar  litera- 
ture of  Hungary  is  very  considerable  in  amount,  covers  many 
fields,  and  includes  the  novels  of  Maurus  Jokai,  whose  "Black 
Diamonds,"  for  example,  has  won  a  host  of  readers  in  its  English 
translation.  In  Poland  many  writers  of  distinction  have  appeared 
through  the  centuries.  None  of  these  is  better  known  to  English 
readers  than  an  author  of  our  own  day,  Henryk  Sienkiewicz.  In 
1905  he  was  awarded  the  Nobel  prize  for  literature.  His  "Quo 
Vadis?"  is  a  great  novel.  The  literature  of  the  Czechs  will  perhaps 
be  made  accessible  to  us  in  view  of  the  widespread  interest  in  the 
new  nation  of  Czechoslovakia.  A  number  of  rather  remarkable  Bal- 
kan tales  have  recently  been  published  in  English.  The  Ruma- 
nian folk  songs,  collected  from  the  peasants  by  Helene  Vacaresco 
and  translated  by  Carmen  Sylva  and  Alma  Strettell  under  the  title 
"The  Bard  of  the  Dimbovitza,"  consist  of  poetry  of  a  beautiful  and 
poignant  quality.  Vondel,  Maartens,  and  other  Dutch  writers  have 
achieved  distinction.  If  our  space  permitted,  our  tale  might  be 
lengthened  indefinitely,  linking  the  past  with  the  present  and 
embracing  the  sincere  and  human  utterances  of  people  of  all  races. 

"Except  a  living  man,"  said  Charles  Kingsley,  "there  is  nothing 
more  wonderful  than  a  book  !  — a  message  from  human  souls  whom 
we  never  saw,  who  lived  perhaps  thousands  of  miles  away.  .  .  , 
They  speak  to  us,  amuse  us,  inspire  us,  teach  us,  open  their  hearts 
to  us  as  brothers." 

513 


indp:x 


Key  to  Pronunciation:  fate,  fSt,  arm,  ask,  care;  eve,  m5t,  makSr;  Ice,  It;  old, 
not,  h6rse,  food,  foot ;  use,  Qp.  ii  represents  the  German  and  Freneh  sound  as  in  griin 
and  lune  (=  liin).  u  represents  the  Gertnan  6,  oe  (schcin),  and  French  eu  (jeu  =  zhu). 
Unmarked  vowels  are  obscure,  th,  as  in  then,  n  represents  the  French  nasalizing  n,  as 
in  French  ton.    K  represents  the  German  ch,  as  in  ach. 


Achilles  (a  kil'ez),  64,  69  ff. 

Addison,  Joseph,  389-390 

"  Ad  6  na'is,"  410 

"Advancement  of  Learning,"  371 

^tgean  civilization,  60 

AL  neld,  no,  121-122,  144 

.-Eschylus  (Cs'ki  lu.s),  85-87 

"  Ag  a  mem'non,"  85,  86-87 

Alarcon  (alarkon'),  Don  Pedro  A., 

195 

"  Alcestis  "  (.ll  sgs'tLs),  91 

Aldrich,  Thomas  B.,  502 

Alfieri  (a!  fya're),  163-164 

Alfred  the  Great,  359 

Allegorical  poem,  the,  in  France.  207 

Almqvist  (iilni'kviRt),  Ludvig,  352 

"  Amadis  de  Gaula  "  (a  ma  de.s'  da 
goii'la),   173,   178-179 

American  literature,  471-512  ;  the 
American  spirit,  471-472;  the  be- 
ginnings, 472-473;  the  Revolution- 
ary period,  473-477  ;  the  nineteenth 
century,  477-507  ;  the  twentieth 
century,   507-510 

"  American  Scholar,  The,"  488 

"  Amoretti,"  367 

Amos,  51 

"  A  nab'a  sTs,"  96 

Anatole  France,  247 

"Ancient  Mariner,  The,"  412 

Andersen,  Hans  Christian,  339 

Andreev  (an  <lrS.'Sf),  Leonid,  320 

An  dro  ni'cus,  1 1 1 

Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  359 

"Anna  Karenina"  (ka  ra'nfi  na),  312, 
3M-316 

"  Annals  of  a  Sportsman,"  304 

"  Antony  and  Cleopatra,"  374 

Apuleius  (Xpu  le'yu.s),  131 

Arabian  Nights,  26-31 


Arabic  literature,  25-31 

Arbiter,  Petronius,  130 

"  Arcadia,"  370 

Ariosto  (a  vv  ds'tO),  1 58-1 59 

Aristophanes  (itr  Is  tof  a  nez),  92-93 

Ar  IS  tot'le,  61,  99-100 

Armagh  (ar'niii),  school  at,  448 

Arnaldos,  Count,  177-178 

Arnold,  Matthew,  67,  68,  166,  426 

Arthurian  cycle  in  English,  360-362 

Arthurian  stories  in  I-"rance,  204 

"  Assonance "  defined,  174 

Assurbanipal  (a  soor  ba'nfi  pal),  li- 
brary of,   10 

"  Atalanta  in  Calydon,"  434 

At'ter  bom,  348 

Attic  Age  of  Greece,  So 

"Aucassin  (o  ka  s;liV)  and  Nicolette" 
(nf  ko  1ft'),  209-210 

Augustine.  St.,  133 

Aurclius,  Marcus,  131 

Authorized  Version  of  Bible,  39-40, 
42,  380 

Autos  sacramctitales,  189,  191 

A  ves'ta,  20 

Babylonian  and    Assyrian   literature, 

9-12 
"  Bacchae"  (bilk'e),  91 
Bacon,  Francis,  370-371 
Bahr,  Hermann,  2S8 
Ballads,    Spanish,    176-178;    Danish, 

334 ;    Swedish.   336 ;    Knglish   and 

Scottish,  365-366 
Pallata  defined,  139 
Balzac    (bill  zitk),    Honore    de,    237- 

23S 
Ba'nim,  John  and  Michael,  460 
"  Banquet,  The,"  142 
"  Bard  of  the  Dimbovitza,  The."  513 


5«S 


5i6 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


Bardic  schools  in  Ireland,  454 

Marri.-s  (bii  r6s'),  Maurice,  246 

Haudelaire  (bod  Ifii'),  Pierre  C,  239 

Beatrice  I'ortinari,  140,  147,  149 

lU-aumarchais  (bo  miir  sha'),  224 

r.icque  (l>ek),  Henri,  246 

iiedc,  35S 

Heccher,  Henry  Ward,  484 

Belgium,  writers  of,  248 

Benavente  (banavan'ta),  Jacinto,  196 

Bennett,  Arnold,  442 

"  Beowulf"  (ba'o  W(xjlf),  356-358 

Beranger  (ba  ion  zha'),  Pierre  Jean 
de.  230 

"  Betrothed,  The,"  164-165 

Bible,  literature  of,  34-57  ;  material 
of,  34,  36-39 ;  historical  facts,  34- 
36;  collections  and  versions,  39- 
42  ;  Old  Testament  poetry,  42-49  ; 
narratives,  49-51  ;  prophecies,  51- 
54  ;  New  Testament,  54-57 

"  Birds,  The,"  93 

Bjornson  (byurn'sun),  Bjornstjerne, 
340-342 

"  Black  Diamonds,"  513 

Blake,  William,  398 

Blasco   Ibafiez   (blas'ko   e  ban'yeth), 

197 

Boccaccio  (bSkka'cho),  155-157 

Bo  e'thi  us,  133 

Bohme  (bu  nie),  263 

Bojer  (bo'yer),  Johan,  348 

Book  of  the  Dead,  8 

"  Book  of  Kells,"  456-457 

"  Boris  Godunov  "  (go  dob  nof ),  298 

Borrow,  George,  438 

Bourget  (boorzha'),  Paul,  246 

Bradford,  William,  472 

Bradstreet,  Anne,  473 

Brah'manas,  17 

"  Brand,"  345 

Bran'des,  Georg,  305,  339 

"  Breakfast  Table  "  essays,  497 

Bre'mer.  Fredrika,  352 

Breshkovsky  (brfsh  kof'sky),  Cath- 
erine. 320 

Brieux  (bre  fi'),  Eugene,  246 

Bron'te,  Charlotte,  438 

Brooke,  Rupert,  445 

Brown,  Charles  B.,  477 

Browne.  Sir  Thomas,  385 

Browning,  Elizabeth  B.,  432 

Browning,  Robert,  429-432 

Brunetiere  (briin  tySr'),  Ferdinand, 
245 


Bruno  (broij'no),  Giordano,  161 
Bryant,  William  C,  480-481  ;  transla- 
tion of  Homer,  69  ff. 
Brynhild  (brun'hiit),  332 
"  Buch  der  Lieder,"  284 
"  Bu  col'Tcs,"  1 19 
Buddha,  17 
Bunyan,  John,  386 
Burke,  Edmund,  396 
Burns,  Robert,  398-400 
Burton,  Richard,  28 
Butler,  Samuel,  438 
Bylinsky,  317 

Byliity  (bi  le'nT),  of  Russia,  295 
Byrd,  Colonel  William,  472 
Byron,  Lord,  404-405 

Cable,  George  W.,  507 

Casdmon  (kad'mun),  358 

Caesar,  Julius,  1 16 

Calderon  (kal  da  ron'),  Pedro,  190-192 

Calhoun,  John  C,  484 

Campbell,  Joseph,  465 

"  Candide  "  (kon  ded'),  225 

"  Canterbury  Tales,  The,"  363-364 

Canzone  defined,  139 

"Canzoniere"  (kan  tso  ne  a'ra),  152 

"  Captain's  Daughter,  The,"  298 

"  Captivi,"  112   __ 

Carducci  (kar  doot'che),  167 

Carleton,  WMlliam,  460 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  142,  254,  261,  273, 

422-424 
Cato,  115 
"  Cato,"  389 
Ca  tul'lus,  114-115 
Caxton's  printing,  360-361 
Cellini  (chel  le'ne),  Benvenuto,  161 
Celtic  revival  in  Ireland,  462-469 
Cervantes   (ser  van'tez),   Miguel   de, 

180-187 
Chamisso  (sha'mi'so),  Adelbert  von, 

283 
Chansotis    de   gestes    (shofi  son'    du 

zhest'),  203  ff. 
Chateaubriand  (sha  to  bre  on'),  Fran- 

9ois  Rene  de.  229 
Chatterton,  Thomas,  398 
Chaucer,  Geoffrey,  362-365 
Chekhov  (chg'kof),  Anton,  317,  318 
Chichikov  (che'che  kof),  302 
"Childe,  The  Avenging,"  177 
"Children  of  the  Lord's  Supper,"  349 
Chinese  literature,  12-13 
Chirikov  (che'rl  kof),  320 


INDEX 


517 


Chivalry  described,  204-205 

"  Choephori  "  (ko  6f' 6  ri),  85 

Chronicle,  Spanish,  17S 

Cicero  (sis'er  5),  116-11S 

"  Cid  (Sid),  The,"  173-176 

"Cid,  The,"  of  Corneille,  218 

"Cid,  El  Poema  del,"  173-176 

Classical  period,  in  France,  216  ff.; 
in  Germany,  263  ff. ;  in  English  lit- 
erature, 3S6-397 

Classics,  Five,  of  China,  13 

Clay,  Henry,  484 

Clay  tablets,  10 

"  Cloak,  The,"  300,  301 

"  Clouds,  The,"  93 

Clytemnestra  (kli  l?m  iiSs'tra),  85 

Coleridge,  S.  T.,  67,  410-412,  420 

Collins,  William,  397 

Colonial  period  in  American  litera- 
ture, 47--473 

Colum,  I'adraic,  467 

Comedy,  Greek,  92-93 

"  CommentariesontheCivil  War,"  116 

"  Comus,"  382 

"  Conde  Lucanor,  El,"  179 

"Confessions"  of  Rousseau,  228 

"Confessions"  of  St.  Augustine,  133 

Confucius  (kon  fQ'sliI  u.s),  13 

Congreve,  William,  3S8 

Conrad,  Joseph,  442 

"Consolations  of  Philosophy,"  133 

"  Contrat  Social,  Le,"  228 

"Convito"  (con  ve'td),  141,  142 

Cooper,  James  F.,  478-479 

Corneille  (kor  iia'y'),  Pierre,  217-218 

Court  epic  in  Germany,  256 

Cowper,  William,  398 

Crabbe,  George,  398 

"Cradle  Song,  A,"  467 

"  Crime  and  Punishment,"  308,  309 

"  Crime  of  Sylvester  Honnard,  The," 
247 

"  Crito,"  98 

Cuchulain  (kii  hu'13.n),  447,  451-452 

Cuneiform  writing,  10,  20 

Cynewulf  (kin'6  wwlf ),  358 

D'Alembert  (da  Ion  b.lr'),  226 
Dalin  (dii  l6n'),  Olof  von,  337 
D'Angouleme     (don  goc)  Irlm'),     Mar- 
guerite, 215 
Danish  literature,  333-339 
D'Annunzio  (dan  noon'ts!  ft),  167 
Dan'te,   Alighieri  (it  le  g6  a'r6),   139- 
150 


"  Dark  Rose,"  459 

Daudet  (do  d&'),  Alphonse,  241 

"  Day  of  Doom,  The,"  473 

"  Dead  Souls,"  300,  301,  302 

"  Decameron,"  156 

Defoe,  Daniel,  392 

Deirdre  (dfw'dra),  453-454 

"  De    Monarchia  "   (ila   ino  nar'kl  a), 

142 
De  Morgan,  William,  442 
Demosthenes  (de  ino.s'the  ii6z),  97 
Denmark,  323,  324 
De  (^)uinccy,  Thomas,  417 
"  De  Rerum  Natura,"  1 13-114 
"  Deserted  Village,  The,"  396 
D'Este  (dgs'ta).  Cardinal,  158 
"  De  Vulgari  Eloquentia,"  142 
Dialogues  of  Plato,  97-99 
Diaz  (de'iith),  Ruy  (rwe),  173  ff. 
Dickens,  Charles,  434-435 
Dickinson,  Emily,  502 
Diderot  (de  drtV),  226 
"  Dies  Irae  "  (de'as  e'ri),  133 
Dionysus  (di  o  iii'sus),  83 
"  Divine  Comedy,"  144-150 
"  Doria  Perfecta,"  197 
"  Don  Quixote  "  (don  kg  ho'ta  or  d6n 

(luik'.sot),  iSi,  182-187 
D'Orleans  (dor  la  on'),  Charles,  206 
Dostoevsky  (dos  to  yfef'ske),  Feodor, 

307-310 
Drachmann,  llolger  H.  II.,  339 
Drama,   defined,  83  ;    beginnings,   in 

Spain,     187-188  ;     beginnings,    in 

France,    208;    in    England    before 

Shakespeare,  371-372 
Dryden,  John,  125-126,  3S7-388 
Dumas  (dii  nia'),  236 
"  Dunciad,  The,"  391 
Dunsany,  Lord,  469 

Ebner-Eschenbach,  Marie  von,  286 

"  Eclogues,"  1 19 

Eddas,  326-327 

Edgeworth,  Maria,  460 

"Education  of  Henry  Adams,  The," 

510 
Edwards,  Jonathan,  473 
Egil,  328-329 
"  Egmont,"  277 
F^ypt,  literature  of,  5-9 
Eichendorff  (i'K'n  ddrf ),  Joseph  von, 

283 
"  Ein  feste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott,"  261 
"Elegiac  poetry"  defined,  128 


518 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


"  Klcgy  Written  in  a  Country  Church- 
yard," 397 

VA\f>U  (Ic'orge.  437-438 

Elizabethan  lyric  poetry,  367-368 

Klizabcthan  plays  characterized,  375 

I'.merson,  Ralph  Waldo,  486-489 

"  I'.milia  (Jalotti,"  268 

"  I'.mperor  of  I'ortugallia,  The,"  352 

Kncina  (rii  thO'iiii),  Juan  de  la,  188 

"  l'",ncyclopcdia,"  226 

English  history,  354-355-  359.  366, 
379.  3S6 

English  literature,  354-446;  the  Eng- 
lish people,  354-355;  the  English 
language,  356,  359 ;  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  period,  356-359;  the  Anglo- 
Norman  period,  359-362;  the  Age 
of  Chaucer,  362-366;  the  period  of 
the  Renaissance,  366-379;  the  Puri- 
tan reaction,  379-386;  the  Classical 
movement,  386-397  ;  beginnings  of 
the  Romantic  movement,  397-400 ; 
Romantic  poetry,  404-415;  prose, 
415-420;  Victorian  Age,  prose,  421- 
427  ;  Victorian  Age,  poetry,  427- 
434 ;  Victorian  Age,  novels,  434- 
441  ;  twentieth  century,  441-445 

Ennius,  iii 

"  Epic  "  defined,  60-61 

Ep  ic  te'tus,  loi 

Ep  1  cu'rus,  1 01 

"  Epistles"  of  Horace,  125 

Erasmus  (e  rilz'inus),  260,  334 

"  Erasmus  Montanus,"  336 

Eschenbach  (gsh'^n  ban).  Wolfram 
von,  256 

Espronceda  {fspr5ntha'tha),  Jose  de 
(h5  sa'  da),  195 

"  Essay  on  Criticism,"  391 

"  Essay  on  Man,"  391 

"  Essays  of  Elia,"  418 

Etruscans,  106-107 

"  Eugene  Onyegin,"  298 

"  Eumenides  (u  ni6nT  dez).  The,"  85 

"  Euphues  "  (u'fu  ez),  370 

Euripides  (0  rlpT  dez),  90-92 

Evald,  Johannes,  336 

Evelyn  (6v'e  lln),  John,  388 

"  Fables"  of  La  Fontaine,  217 
Fabliau  (fa  ble  5').  207 
"  Faerie  Queene.  The,"  369-370 
Fastnachtsspiel  (f a-st  naKts  shpgl'),  263 
"  Fathers  and  Children,"  306 
"Faust"  (foust),  27S-282 


"  Federalist,  The,"  474 

Fenian  (fe'ni  an)  cycle  of  romances, 

453-454 
Fernan  Caballero,  195 
Field,  F^ugene,  506 
Fielding,  Henry,  392-393 
Finland,  350  n. 
Finnish  literature,  350  n. 
Firdausi  (fer  dou'se),  20 
P'iske,  John,  504-505 
P'itzgerald,  Edward,  21,  191 
Flaubert  (fio  bar'),  Gustave,  240 
Foscolo  (idsltolo),  Niccolo  Ugo,  164 
"  Four  Horsemen  of  the  Apocalypse, 

The,"  197 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  475-476 
P'ree  verse  in  America,  500,  508 
French  history,  200,  210,  216 
French    literature,    200-250;    origins 
of  people  and  language,  200-201  ; 
the    French    spirit,    201-202 ;    the 
medieval     period,     202-210;     the 
Renaissance,  210-215;  the  "great 
age,"  216-223;  ^^  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, 223-230;  the  Romantic  move- 
ment, 230-239 ;  Baudelaire  and  the 
Parnassians,  239-240  ;  the  Natural- 
ists, 240-244  ;  historians  and  critics, 
244-245;  recent  and  contemporary 
writers,  245-248 
"  French  Revolution,  The,"  422 
Freneau  (fre  no'),  Philip,  474 
Freytag  (fri'taK),  Gustav,  286 
"  Frithiofs  (frith 'yofs)  Saga,"  350 
"  Frogs,  The,"  93 

Galsworthy,  John,  442,  443 

Garcilaso  de  la  Vega  (gar  the  la'so 
da  la  va'ga),  193 

"  Gar  gan'tu  a,"  213 

Garrod,  H.  W.,  108-109,  115 

Gautier  (gotya'),  Theophile  (tabfel'), 
236 

George  Eliot,  437-438 

George  Sand,  237 

"  Georgics,"  119-120 

German  history,  253,  260,  263,  264 

German  literature,  251-290;  German 
race  and  language,  251-252;  the 
early  period,  253-257;  minnesong, 
mastersong,  and  folk  song,  257- 
259;  Reformation  and  Renaissance, 
260-263 ;  ^he  Classical  period,  263- 
282 ;  Romanticism,  282-284 !  the 
modern  period,  285-288 


INDEX 


519 


"Ghibelline"  (glb'el  in)  and  "Guelf" 
(gwelf),  138 

"Gil  Bias"  ('zhel  bliis),  223 

"Gilgamesh  (gll'ga  m6sh)  Epic,"  12 

Gissing,  George,  439 

Godfrey,  Thomas,  472 

Gods  of  Greece,  65,  72-74 

Goethe  (gti'te),Johann  Wolfgang  von, 
273-2S2 

Go'gol,  Nikolai,  300-303 

"Golden  Ass,  The,"  131 

Goldoni,  162-163 

Goldsmith,  Oliver,  395-396 

Goncharov  (gOn  clia  rof),  303 

Goncourt  (goi'i  koor'),  Jules  de,  242 

Gorky,  Maxim,  317,  319 

Gospels,  55-56 

"  Gotz  von  Berlichingen"  (gfits  f6n 
bgr'll  Klng'n),  275 

"Gran  Galeoto,  El,"  196 

Gray,  Thomas,  397-398 

"Greek  Anthology,"  102,  103-104 

Greek  drama,  83-93 

Greek  genius,  59 

Greek  history,  59,  62,  74,  80,  100 

Greek  literature,  59-105;  historical 
background,  59-60  et  passim;  Ho- 
meric epics,  60-74;  lyric  age,  74- 
80;  Attic  Age,  80-100;  later  litera- 
ture, 100-104 

Gregory,  Lady,  466,  468 

Griboedov  (grg  ba,  yg'dof),  317 

Grillparzer  (grll'par  tsgr),  283 

Grimmclshausen  (grl'mgls  hou  z'n), 
Christoffel  von,  263 

"  Gudrun  "  (goo'droon),  256 

"Guelf"  (gw6lf)  and  "Ghibelline" 
(glb'elln),  138 

"  Gulliver's  Travels,"  389 

Ha'flz,  23-24 

"  Hamlet,"  374 

Hamsun,  Knut,  348 

"  Han'nelc,"  288 

Hardy,  Thomas,  440 

Hartmann  von  Aue  (f6n  ou'S),  256 

Hauptmann     (houpt'man),    Gerhart, 

2SS 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  490-491 

Hayne,  Paul  Hamilton,  483 

Hazlitt,  William,  420 

Hebrew,  people,  34;  history,  34,  36 

Hector,  6()  ff. 

Hegel  (ha'g'l).  Wilhelm,  285 

"Heimskringla"  (hams'kring  lii),  328 


Heine  (hl'n?),  Heinrich,  259,  284 

"  Heldenbuch,"  255 

"  Hell,"  of  Dante's"  Divine  Comedy," 

146 
"  Hellenica,"  96 
"  Henry  Esmond,"  437 
Herder,  Johann  Gottfried  von,  268- 

269 
"  Hermit,  The,"  464 
"Hernani"  (firna'ne),  232 
He  rod'o  tus,  94-95 
"  Hero  of  Our  Time,  A,"  299 
Herrera  (6rra'ra),  Fernando  de  (da), 

Herrick,  Robert,  380 

Hervieu  (er  vyQ'),  Paul,  246 

Herzen,  318 

He'si  od,  74 

Hewlett,  Maurice,  442 

Heyse  (hi'z6),  Paul,  285 

"  Hiawatha  "  (hi  a  wO'tha),  493 

Hieroglyphics,  6 

"  Hiidebrandslied,"  253-254 

"  Historia  Danica,"  334 

"  History  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War," 
272 

Hoffmann,  283 

Holberg,  Ludvig,  335 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  496-497 

Holz,  Arno,  287 

Homeric  Age,  62 

Homeric  epics,  60-74 

Homeric  hero  compared  with  medie- 
val knight,  63-64 

Horace,  122-126 

Housman,  A.  E.,  444 

Howells,  W.  D.,  166,  313,  502-503 

Hugo,  Victor,  231-235 

Humanists,  150 

Hunt,  Leigh,  154 

Hyde,  Douglas,  462 

Ibsen,  Henrik,  343-348 

Iceland,  323.  324,  326  ff. 

Icelandic  literature,  326-333 

Iliad,  61;    characters,  64;    synopsis, 

65 
"  II  Penseroso,"  381 
"  Immensec  "  (I'nrn  za),  285 
India,  literature  of,  14-19 
"  In  Memoriam,"  428 
"  Inn,  An,"  245 

"  Inspector-General,  The,"  300,  301 
"  Iphigenia  "  (If  I  jC  nl'a),  91 
"  Iphigenia"  of  Racine,  219 


520 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


"  Iphigenie  (If  6  ga'nC  a)  auf  Tauris," 
277 

Irish  characteristics,  449-450 

Irish  folklore,  447-448,  450 

Irish  history,  447-448,  461-462 

Irish  literature,  447-470;  early  his- 
tory, 447-448 ;  Irish  language  and 
genius,  449-450 ;  the  cycles  of 
romances,  450-454;  minor  writers, 
456-458;  nineteenth-century  writ- 
ers, 458-462;  the  Celtic  revival, 
462-469 

Irving,  Washington,  477 

Isaiah,  52 

Italian  literature,  136-169;  the  lan- 
guage, 136-138  ;  history  before 
Uante,  139;  Uante,  139-150;  Pe- 
trarch and  Boccaccio,  150-157; 
Ariosto  and  Tasso,  157-160;  prose 
writers,  161  ;  later  literature,  162- 
166;  recent  writers,   166-168 

Italy,  importance  of,  136;  history  of, 
136,  138,  150,  157,  162,  164 

James,  Henry,  310,  503-504 

James,  King,  Version  of  Bible,  39-40, 

42,  3S0 
James,  William,  509 
Japanese  literature,  14 
Jean  Valjean  (zhoii  val  zhoiV),  234 
Jebb,  76,  78,  79 
"  Jeppe  of  the  Hill,"  336 
Jerome,  St.,  39,  132 
"Jerusalem  IJelivered,"  159 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  36,  56-57 
Job,  Book  of,  4S-49 
Johnson,  Samuel,  393-395 
Jokai  (yo'koe),  Maurus,  513 
Jongleur  (zhoii  glur'),  207 
Jonson,  Ben,  378 
"Julius  Caesar,"  373 
Juvenal,  130 

"  Kji  le  va'la,"  351  n. 

Kant,  Immanuel,  269 

Karamzin  (ka  riini  zen'),  296 

Keats,  John,  406-408 

Keller,  Gottfried,  286,  287 

Key  (ka),  Ellen,  352 

Kickham,  Charles,  460 

"  King  Lear,"  374 

Kingsley,  Charles,  438 

Kipling.  Rudyard,  442,  444 

Kleist,  Heinrich  von,  283 

Klopstock,  Friedrich  G.,  264,  265-266 


"  KnabenWunderhorn(knab'nvoon'- 

der  horn),  Ues,"  259 
"  Knickerbocker     History     of     New 

York,"  477 
"  Koran,"  24,  25 
Kriemhild,  254-255 
Kro  pot'kin,  303,  310,  317 

La  Bruyere  (brii  yar'),  Jean  de,  222 

La  Fayette,  Madame  de,  222 

La  Fontaine,  217 

Lagerlof  (la'ger  ICif ),  Selma,  352 

"  L' Allegro"  (lal  la'gro),  381 

Lamartine  (la  mar  ten'),  Alphonse  P. 
de,  230 

Lamb,  Charles,  418-419 

Lang,  Andrew,  102,  209,  212 

Langland,  William,  364-365 

Lanier  (la  ner'),  Sidney,  507 

"  La  ok'o  on,"  267,  268 

La  Rochefoucauld  (roshfooko'),  duke 
de,  222 

Latin  language,  106  ff.,  131 

Latin  literature,  106-135  ;  history  and 
language  of  Romans,  106-109 ; 
Roman  character  and  religion,  109- 
III ;  Plautus  to  Cicero,  111-118; 
Augustan  Age,  118-128;  later  lit- 
erature,  128-134 

Latin  race,  107 

Laura,  153 

"  Lazarillo  de  Tormes  "  (la  thii  rel'yo 
da  tor'mes),  iSo 

"  Leaves  of  Grass,"  498  ff. 

"  Legend    of    Good   Women,  The," 

363 
"  Leinster  (len'ster'),  Book  of,"  450 
Leopardi  (lao  par'de),  Giacomo,  165 
Lermontov  (ler'mon  tof ),  299 
Lesage  (le  sazh'),  Rene,  223 
Lessing,  Gotthold  E.,  267-268 
Lever,  Charles,  460 
Lie  (le),  Jonas,  348 
"Life  of  Samuel  Johnson"  (Boswell), 

395 
Liliencron  (le'Iy'n  kr5u),  Detlev  von, 

287 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  485 
Literature,  uses  of,  1-4 
"  Literature  "  defined,  i 
"  Lives  of  Famous  Men,"  loi 
Livy,  127 
Lockhart,  177 

Longfellow,  H.  W^.,  349,  492-493 
Longinus  (lonji'nus),  3 


INDEX 


521 


Lonnrot  (lun'rot),  Elias,  35011. 

Lope  de  Rueda  (rooa'tiia),  188 

Louis  XIV,  216 

Lover,  Samuel,  460 

"  Love's  Comedy,"  344 

Lowell,  James  Russell,  191-192,  494- 

495 
Lucan,  129 
Lucian,  102 

Lucretius  (lu  kre'shi  us),  113-114 
Luther,  Martin,  261-262 
"  Lycidas"  (lls'Tdas),  382 
Lyric  age  of  Greece,  74 
"  Lyric  poetry"  defined,  76 
"  Lyrical  Ballads,"  410-41 1,  414 
Lytton,  Lord,  438 

Macaulay,  Thomas  B.,  421 

"  Macbeth,"  374 

Machiavelli  (niiikya  vgl'le),  161 

Mackail,  79,  88,  102,  103 

Mac  Laig,  456 

MacManus,  Mrs.  Scumas,  465 

Macpherson,  398 

"  Madame  Bovary  "  (bo  va  re'),  241 

"Mademoiselle  de  Maupin"  (niopaiV), 

236 
Maecenas  (m6  se'nas),  118,  123,  124 
Maeterlinck  (ma'tgr  llngk),  Maurice, 

248 
"  Magda,"  288 

"  Ma'gi  CO  Pro  di  gi  o'so,"  191 
"  Magnalia  Christi,"  473 
"  Ma  ha  bha'ra  ta,"  18 
Mahaffy,  63,  75 
Mallarmc  (iiia  hlrina'),  Stephane  (sta- 

fan'),  245 
Malory,  Sir  Thomas,  360 
Mangan,  James  C,  45S 
"  Manon  Lescaut  "  (ma  noiV  l§s  ko'), 

223 
"  Manrique      (miin  le'ka),      Jorge  " 

(hdr'ha),    193 
Manuel  (inanoofel').  I^on  Juan,  179 
Manzoni  (iniin  zu'ne),  164 
Marcus  Aurelius,  131 
"  Maria  Stuart,"  272 
Marie  dc  France,  206 
"  Marius  the  Epicurean,"  131 
Mark  Twain,  506-507 
Marlowe,  Christopher,  368,  372 
Marot  (iniirO),  Clement,  212 
"  Marseillaise,"  227 
"  Marshes  of  Glynn,  The,"  507 
Martial  (miir'shl  al),  129 


Martyn,  Edward,  466 

Masefield,  John,  444 

"'  Master  Pathelin,"  209 

Mastersingers,  259 

Mather,  Cotton,  473 

Maupassant    (mo  pa  son'),    Guy    de, 

243-244 
"  Maxims"  of  Rochefoucauld,  222 
"  Mayor  of  Zalamea,"  191 
Mazzini  (iniit  .se'ne),  Giuseppe,  166 
"  Medea,"  90 

"  Medea"  of  Corneille,  218 
Medieval  romance  in  Spain,  178-179; 

in    France,    206  ff. ;    in    Germany, 

256;  in  England,  359  ff- 
"Meditations"  of   Marcus  Aurelius, 

131 

Melville,  Herman,  484 

"  Memoirs  from  the  House  of  Death," 

308 
Me  nan'der,  92 
Meredith,  George.  439 
Merimee  (niarenia').  Prosper,  238 
"  Messias,  Der,"  264,  265-266 
"Metamorphoses,"  128 
Micah,  52 

Middle  Ages,  learning  of,  140- 141 
Milman,  Dean,  79 
Milton,  John,  3S0-3S6 
"  Minna  von  Barnhelm,"  268 
Minnesong,  257 
Minucius  Felix,  131 
"  Miserables  (me  za  rabl'),  Les  "  (la), 

234 
"  Modern  Painters,"  424 
Mohammed,  25 
Molicre  (nio  lyar'),  220-221 
Montaigne    (nion  tan'),    Michel    de, 

214-215 
Montesquieu  (mOii  tg.skyfi'),  Charles, 

baron  de,  226 
Moody,  William  Vaughan,  508 
Moore,  George,  468 
Moratin  (mo  rji  ten'),  Fernandez  de, 

194 
More,  Sir  Thomas,  367 
Morris,  William,  433 
"  Morte  d'Arthur,  Le,"  360 
Morton,  Thomas,  472 
Moses,  Song  of,  37 
Motley,  John  L.,  486 
"  Musenalmanach  "     (moo  z'n  iiVmk 

naiv),  265 
Musset  (mtisa'),  Alfred  de,  235 
Mystic  writers  of  Spain,  194 


522 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


Nxvius,  1 1 1 

"  Nathan  der  Weise "  (na'tiin  dar 
vi'zS),  268 

Naturalism,  in  France,  242 ;  in  Ger- 
many, 287 

"  Nature  of  Things,  The,"  113-114 

Nekrasov  (n6k  ra'sdf),  300 

New  Comedy,  1 1 1 

New  Comedy  of  Greece,  92 

"  New  Life,"  140 

Newman,  John  Henry,  425-426 

Next),  Martin  A.,  339 

"  Nibeiungenlied  "  (ng'be  loOng  en 
let),  254-255 

Nicolette,  209-210 

Nietzsche  (ne'chS),  Friedrich,  286 

"Njalssaga"  (nyals'saga),  330 

Norse  mythology,  327 

Northmen,  324  ff. 

Northumbrian  school  of  culture,  358 

Norton,  Charles  Eliot,  504 

Norway,  323,  324 

Norwegian  literature,  333-337,  339" 
348 

"  Notre-Dame  (n6tr'  dam)  de  Paris," 
232 

"  Nouvelle  Heloise,  La "  (noo  vel' 
a  15  ez')-  228 

Novel  in  England,  beginnings,  392  ff. 

"  Novum  Organum,"  371 

Noyes,  Alfred,  444 

"  OlDcr  on,"  266 

"  Oblomov  "  (6b  lo'mof ),  303 

"  Octavius,"  131 

"  Ode  on  Intimations  of  Immortality," 

414 
"Odes"  of  Horace,  124-126 
Odyssey  (5d'i  si),  61  ff. 
"  CEdipus  (M"i  pus)  the  King,"  88-89 
Gihlenschlager  (u'lenslilS,ger),  Adam 

<^-.  337-338 
O'Grady,  Standish,  461 
"  Old  Woman  of  Beare,  The,"  456 
Omar    Khayyam    (Omar    kbi  yam'), 

21-23 
Oratory,  Greek,  96-97 
Orestes  (5  rfis'tez),  85 
Oriental    literature,    5-33 ;    Egyptian, 

5-9;  Babylonian  and  Assyrian,  9- 

12;  Chinese  and  Japanese,  12-14; 

Indian,     14-19;      Persian,     19-24; 

Arabic,   25-31 
"Orlando  Furioso,"  '58-159 
Ormsby,  175-176,  186 


Ossianic  poems  in  Ireland,  456-457 
Ostrovsky  (6.s  trOf'ske),  317 
O'Sullivan,  Seumas,  465 
"  Othello,"  374 
Ottava  rima,  155 
Ov'id,  127-128 

Paine,  Thomas,  474 

Palacio  Valdes  (pala'theo  val  das'), 
197 

Pali  literature,  15,  17 

Pallas  A  the'ne,  character.  64 

"  Pantagruel  "  (pan  tag'njo  61),  213 

Parables,  9,  56-57 

"  Paradise,"  of  Dante's  "  Divine  Com- 
edy,"  146 

"  Paradise  Lost,"  383-385 

"  Paradise  Regained,"  385 

Parallelism  in  poetry,  8,  12,  44-45 

Parini  (pare'ne),  Giuseppe,  163 

Parkman,  Francis,  486 

Parnassians,  239 

"  Parzival"  (par'tse  fal),  256 

Pascal  (pas'kal),  Blaise,  222 

Pater,  Walter,  131 

Patrick,  Saint,  448 

"  Pearl,  The,"  362 

"  Peer  Gynt "  (pa'gr  glint  or  ytint), 
345-346 

"  Pelle  the  Conqueror,"  339 

"  Peloponnesian  W^ar,  History  of  the," 

95 
Pepys  (p5ps,  pgpls,  or  peps),  Samuel, 

388 
Percy,  Bishop,  398 
Pereda  (para'tha),  Jose  Maria  de,  195 
"  Pere  Goriot  "  (pSr  go  ryo'),  237 
Perez  Galdos  (pa'rath  gal  d5s'),  196, 

197 
Pericles  (perT  klez),  82 
Persian  literature,  19-24 
"  Persians,  The,"  85 
Petrarch  (pe'trark),  Francesco,  150- 

155 
"  Phsedo,"  98 
"  Phaedra,"  219 
"  Philippics,"  97 
Philosophe  movement,  224 
Phosphorists,  348 
"  Pickwick  Papers."  434,  435 
Pierre  Loti  (pyar  lo  te'),  244 
"  Piers  Plowman,"  364-365 
Pietism  in  Germany,  264 
"  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  386 
Pindar,  78 


INDEX 


523 


Plato,  97-99 ;  "  Dialogues,"  61-62,  98 

Plautus  (plo'tus),  111-112 

Pliny  (plinl),  in,  129 

Plutarch,  loi 

Poe,  Edgar  Allan,  481-4S3 

"  Political  Tinker,  The,"  336 

Polybius  (po  llb'i  us),  100 

"  I'olyeucte  "  (p6  le  dkt'),  218 

Ponce  de  Leon  (pon'tha  da  la  on'), 

Fray  Luis,  193 
"  Poor  People,"  308 
"  Poor  Richard's  Almanac,"  476 
Pope,  Alexander,  390-391 
"  Precieuses     Ridicules     (pra  syHz' 

re  d6  kill'),  Les"  (la),  220 
"Prelude,  The,"  413 
Prescott,  William  H.,  486 
Prevost  (pra  vo').  Abbe,  223 
"  Prince,  The,"  161 
"  Prince  Igor's  Raid,  Story  of,"  296 
"Princess  of  Cleves,  The,"  222 
Problem  plays  described,  346 
"  Promessi  Sposi  (pro  m6s's6  spo'sC), 

I  "  (e),  164-165 
Prophets,  Hebrew,  51-54 
Proven9al  poets,  205-206 
Psalms,  Hebrew,  42  ff. 
"  Purgatory,"    of    Dante's    "  Divine 

Comedy,"  146 
Puritan  era  in  England,  379-386 
Puschmann,  Adam,  262 
Pushkin,  Alexander,  297-298 
Pyramid  Texts,  6 

Quevedo  (kava'tho),  Don  Francisco, 

194 
"Quo  Vadis?"  513 

Rabelais  (rab'16'),  Fran9ois,  213 
Racine  (ra  sen'),  Jean,  218-219 
Raftery,  Anthony,  457 
Ra  ma'ya  na,  iS 

Rationalism  in  Germany,  264-2G5 
"  Riiuber  (roy'ber),  Die,"  271 
"  Realism  "  in  Russian  literature  de- 
fined, 303 
Red  IJranch  cycle  of  romances,  451- 

453 
Reformation,  in  Germany,  260  ff.;  in 

England,  379 
Regnier  (ranya'),  Henri,  245 
Regnier,  Mathurin,  213 
Religion,    P'.gyptian.    8-9;    Assyrian, 

n-12;  Chinese,  13;  Indian,  16-17; 

Persian.  20;  Biblical,  35  ff.;  Greek, 


72-74,  75;    Roman,   109-110,  122; 
of  Dante,   149-150 
Renaissance,  the,  in  Italy,  150,  161; 
in    France,    210  ff.;    in    Germany, 
260  ff. ;  in  England,  366-379 
Renan  (re  non'),  Ernest,  244 
"  Republic,  The,"  98 
"  Resurrection,"  312,  314 
"  Return  of  the  Native,  The,"  441 
Reuchlin  (roiK'lIii),  260 
Revelation,  Book  of,  54-55 
Revival  of  Learning,  150 
"  Revolt  of  the  Netherlands,"  272 
Revolutionary  period  of  American  lit- 
erature, 473-477 
"  Richard  Feverel,"  439 
Richardson,  Samuel,  392 
Richter  (riK'tSr),  Jean  Paul  Friedrich, 

269 
Rig  Veda  (va'da),  16 
Riley,  James  Whitcomb,  506 
"  Ring  and  the  Book,  The,"  432 
"  Ring  des  Nibelungen,  Der,"  257 
"Robbers,  The,"  271.   See  "  Rauber, 

Die" 
"  Robinson  Crusoe,"  392 
Rochefoucauld,  duke  de  la.    See  La 

Rochefoucauld,  duke  de 
"  Ro'land,  Song  of,"  202-203 
Rolland  (rOl  Ion'),  Romain,  247 
Roman  Catholic  Bible,  39-40 
"  Romance  of  Reynard,  'I'he,"  20S 
"  Romance  of  the  Rose,  The,"  207 
Romances  of  Arthur,  204-205 
Romans,  historj',  106,  118,  128;  liter- 
ature,  106-135;  character,  109 
Romantic  movement,  in  France,  231  ; 
in  Germany,   2S2-2S4  ;   in    Scandi- 
navia, 337,  348  ;  in  England,  397- 
400,  404  ff. 
Rome,  city  of,  106-107 
Roncesvalles,  battle  of,  202 
Ronsard  (roiisar'),  Pierre  de,  212 
Rossetti,  Christina,  2,  433 
Rossetti,  D.  G.,  77,  140,  211,  432 
Rostand  (rostoiV),  Edmond,  246 
Rouget   de    Lisle    (n¥)  zli6'  de  lei'), 

Claude  Joseph,  227 
Rousseau     (rtio  so'),     lean    Jacques, 

227-228 
"  Rubaiyat"  (riKj'bl  yiit),  21-23 
Ruiz  (rooCtli'),  Juan,  192 
Runeberg  (roo'ne  bCry'),  Johan  Lud- 

vig.  350 
Ruskin,  John,  150,  424-425 


524 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


"  Ruslan  and  Liudmila,"  297 

Russell,  (ieorgc  W.,  464 

Russia,  291 

Russian  literature,  291-322;  theland, 
people,  and  language,  291-294 ; 
history  of  Russia,  294-295;  the  lit- 
erature before  Pushkin,  295-297  ; 
the  poets,  297-300;  Gogol  and  Gon- 
charov,  300-303  ;  Turgenev,  304- 
306;  Dostoevsky,  307-310;  Tolstoy, 
310-316;  other  forms  of  literature, 
317-318;  recent  novelists,  318-320 

Russian  people,  291-292 

Rydberg  (rturbgry'),  Viktor,  351 

Sachs,  Hans,  262 
Saemund  the  Wise,  327 
Saga-romances  of  Ireland,  450-454 
"  Sagas  "  defined,  328 
Sainte-Beuve  (sai'it  buv'),  Charles  A., 

244 
Sallust,  1 16 

Salon  in  French  letters,  222 
"  Samson   Agonistes  "   (ag  0  iiis'tez), 

385 

Sancho  Panza,  184  ff. 

San  Juan  de  la  Cruz  (krooth),  194 

Sanskrit  literature,  17-18 

Santa  Teresa  (til  ra'sa),  194 

Santillana  (siin  tel  ya'na),  Marques 
de,   193 

Sappho, 76 

"  Sartor  Resartus,"  422,  424 

"Satire"  defined,  125 

"  Satires  "  of  Horace,  124,  125 

"  Satires  "  of  Juvenal,  130 

Saxo  Grammaticus,  334 

Scandinavian  history,  324 

Scandinavian  literature,  323-353;  the 
land  and  people,  323-324 ;  the 
early  period  (Icelandic),  326-333; 
the  middle  period,  333-337;  modern 
1  )anish  literature,  337-339 ;  modern 
Norwegian  literature,  339-348  ; 
modern  Swedish  literature,  348-352 

"  Scarlet  Letter,  The,"  491 

Scarron  (ska  ron'),  Paul,  222 

Schiller.  Friedrich  von,  270-273 

Schlegel  (shlaVl),  A.  W.  and  F.,  283 

Schnitzler,  Arthur,  288 

Schopenhauer  (shO'p'n  hou  er),  Ar- 
thur, 285 

Scott,  Jonathan,  27,  28 

Scott,  Sir  Walter;  416-417 

Seneca,  129 


Sentimentalism  in  Germany,  265 
Sesostris,  hymn  to,  8 
"  Seven  against  Thebes,  The,"  85 
"  Seven  Lamps  of  Architecture,  The," 

424 
Sewall,  Samuel,  473 
Seymour,  67 

"  Shadow  of  the  Cathedral,  The,"  198 
"  Shah  Namah  "  (shiih  iia  ma'),  20 
Shakespeare,  William,  367,  372-378 
Shakespearean    plays    characterized, 

375 
Shaw,  George  Bernard,  443-444 
Shcehan,  Canon,  468 
Shelley,  Percy  B.,  191,  408-410 
Sheridan,  R.  B.,  397 
Sidney,  Sir  Philip,  370 
Siegfried,  254-255 
Sienkiewicz  (syen  kya'vich),  Henryk, 

5'3 
Sigerson,  George,  461 
Sigurd  (ze'goord),  327,  332-333 
Simms,  William  G.,  483 
Simonides  (sl  monldez),  79,  82 
"  Simplicissimus,"  263 
Skaski  of  Russia,  295 
"  Sketch  Book,  The,"  478 
Smollett,  Tobias,  393 
Snoilsky,  Count  Carl,  351 
"  Social  drama  "  defined,  346 
Socrates  (sok'ra  tez),  97-98 
"  Song  of  Roland,"  202-203 
Song  of  Songs,  The,  47-48 
Sonnet,  Italian,  139 
Sophocles  (sof  6  klez),  87-89 
"Sorrows  of  Werther,  The,"  (var'ter), 

275 
Spain,  features  of,  170;  history,  170- 

171.  173 
Spanish  ballads,  176-17S 
Spanish  characteristics,  1 71-172 
Spanish  drama,  1S7-191,  196 
Spanish  literature,   170-199;    history 
and  language,  170-173;  "The  Cid," 
173-176;    ballads,    176-178;    early 
prose,    178-180;    Cervantes,    180- 
1S7  ;  drama,  187-192  ;  lyric  poetry, 
192-194;  modern,  194-198 
Spanish  poetry,  192-195,  196-197 
Spectator,  the,  389-390 
Spenser,  Edmund,  114,  367,  368-370 
Spielhagen  (shperiiag'n),  Friedrich, 

286 
"  Star  of  Seville,  The,"  189 
Stedman,  Edmund  C,  502 


INDEX 


525 


Steele,  Richard,  389-390 
Stendhal,  231 
Stephens,  James,  469 
Sterne,  Laurence,  393 
Stevenson,  Robert  Louis,  439-440 
Stjernhjelm    (styernliyelin),    Georg, 

337 
Stoicism,  loi 

"  Stories  of  Ensign  StSl,"  351 
Storm,  Theodor,  285 
Storm  and  Stress  movement,  265 
Stowe,  Harriet  1>.,  497 
Strassburg    (slitras'boorK),  Gottfried 

von,  257 
Strindberg,  Johan  August,  352 
Sturluson,  Snorri,  328 
Sturm    ttnd  Drang  movement,    265. 

See  Storm  and  Stress  movement 
Sudermann  (zoo'der  man),  Hermann, 

288 
Sumerians,  9,  10 
"  Sunken  Bell,  The,"  288 
Sutras,  17 
Sweden,  323,  324 

Swedish  literature,  336-337,  348-352 
Swift,  Jonathan,  388-389 
Swinburne,  A.  C.,  166,  433-434 
Symbolist  movement  in  France,  245, 

246 
Symonds,  John  A.,  77,  97 
Symons,  Arthur,  240,  364 
Synge  (sing),  John  M.,  466-467 

Tacitus  (tcXsT  tiis),  129-130 
Tagore  (tiigor'),  Rabindranath,  18 
Taine,  H.  A.,  245 
"Tannhauser"  (tan'hoi  zer),  258 
"  Taras  Bulba,"  300,  301 
"Tartuffe"  (tiir  tlif ),  221 
Tasso,  Torquato,  159-160 
I'atler,  the,  389 
Taylor,  Bayard,  483-484 
Tchernyshevsky    (tchgr  ne  sh6f'.ski), 

318  • 

Tegner  (tpg  nfir'),  Elias,  349 
"  Tempest,  The,"  375 
Tennyson,  Alfred,  Lord,  114,427-429 
Terence  (t6r'eiis),  11 2-1 13 
Terza  rima  (tf  r'tsii  re'niii),  144 
Testament,  New,  38-39,  54-57 
Testament,    Old,    literature,    37-54 ; 

poetry,     42-49 ;      narratives,     49 ; 

prophecies,    51-54 
Thackeray,  W.  M.,  435-436 
Theater,  Greek,  84 


Theater,  Irish,  466 

"  Theocritus,    Bion,   and    Moschus," 

102-103 
"  Theogony  "  (the  og'O  nl),  74 
''  Thidreks  Saga,"  334 
Thomson,  James,  397 
Thoreau  (tlio'ro),  Ilenry  D.,  4S9-490 
Thucydides  (tiiu  sid'I  dez),  95-96 
"  Thus  Spake  Zarathustra,"  286 
Timrod,  Ilenry,  483 
"  Tintern  Abbey,"  415 
Tolstoy  (tol'stoi),  Leo,  310-316 
"  Torquato  Tasso,"  277-278 
Trissino  (tres  se'iio),  162 
"Tristan  und  Isolde"  (tris'tan  oont 

e  zol'de),  257 
"  Tristram  Shandy."  393 
"Trojan  Women,"  90-91 
Trollope,  Anthony,  438 
IVoubadotir,  206 
lyom'ire,  206 
Troy,  59 

Tryg'ves  son,  Olaf,  330 
Turgenev  (toor  gan'ygf ),  Ivan,  304- 

306 
Tyndale,  version  of  Bible,  39-40 

Uhland  (60'lant),  Ludwig,  283 

Ul'fT  las.  Bishop,  251 

"  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  497 

Underbill,  Evelyn,  310 

Underworld,   of   Homer,   Virgil,  and 

Dante,   144-145 
Upanishads  (<xj  i).1.'nTsha,dz),  17 
"  Utopia,"  367 

"  Vanity  Fair,"  437 

Vedas  (va'daz),  16 

Vega  (va'gii).  Lope  de,  188-190 

Verga,  Giovanni,  166 

Verhaeren  (var  hit'rf  n),  Emile,  248 

Verlaine  (ver  Ian'),  Paul,  240 

Vers  libre,  245 

"V'ersunkene  Glocke  (f6r  zoong'kg  n5 

ghVkC),    Die,"    2S8.    See   "Sunken 

Bell,  The" 
"  Vicar  of  Wakefield,  The."  396 
Vicente  (ve  .sen'te),  Gil,  1S8 
Victorian  Age  of  English  literature, 

420  ff. 
Vigny  (v6  nyC),  Alfred  de,  235 
Vildrac,  Charles,  245 
\'illon  (vG  yort'),  Fran9ois,  210-212 
Virgil,  118-122;  in  "Divine  Comedy," 

144,  149 


526 


LITERATURE  OF  THE  WORLD 


"  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal,"  494 

"  Vita  Nuova  "  (ve'ta  noo  o'va),  140 

Voglic,  307 

"  Volsunga  Saga"  (vol'soonggasa'ga), 

327.  332-333 
Voltaire,  224-225 

Wagner  (vag'nSr),  Wilhelm  Richard, 

257.  258,  262,  286 
"  Wallenstein  "  (vari'ii  shtin),  272 
Walther  von  der  Vogelweide  (val'ter 

foil  der  fo'g'l  vi  de),  25S 
Walton,  Izaak,  386 
"  Wanderings  of  Oisin,  The,"  462 
"  War  and  Peace,"  312,  314 
Washington,  George,  474 
"  Weavers,  The,"  288 
Webster,  Daniel,  484 
Webster,  John,  379 
Welhaven  (vgl'ha  ven),  Sebastian  C, 

340 
Wells,  H.  G.,  443 
Wendell,  Barrett,  113,  131 
Wergeland  (vgr'geland),  Henrik,  339 
Whitman,  Walt,  497-501 
Whittier,  John  Greenleaf,  491-492 
Wieland  (velaul),  Ciuistoph  M.,  366 


Wigglesworth,  473 
"  Wild  Earth,"  467 
"Wilhelm  Meister"  (virhglm  mis't€r), 

277,  278 
"Wilhelm  Tell,"  273 
Williams,  Roger,  472 
Williams,  Theodore  C,  no,  122 
Woolman,  John,  474 
Wordsworth,  William,  412-415 
"  Works  and  Days,"  74 
Wyatt  and  Surrey,  367 
Wycliffe   (wik'llf),  version  of  Bible, 

39-40 

Xenophon  (z6n'o  fon),  96 

Yeats  (yats  or  yets),  William  Butler, 

462-464 
"  Young  Germany"  movement,  285 

Zarathushtra    (zara  thoosh'tra),    19, 

20 
Zend-Avesta  (zend-a  ves'ta),  20 
Zhukovsky  (zhoo  kof'ski),  296 
Zo'lii,  fimile,  242-243 
Z6  ro  as'ter,  19,  20 


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